Cricket: Tourists in a hurry to revive winning spirit
Perhaps they had been spooked by all the security concerns but England's cricketers seemed so eager to get on the first flight out of Karachi that they might have preferred to remain parked on the runway for their entire visit.
Twenty-four hours on from their record-equalling 165-run trouncing in Thursday's third one-day international, the squad had flown 700 miles north to the diplomatic environs of Islamabad, from where the battle to salvage their lost pride will be launched. A long and spirit-sapping series is winding to a close, and the tourists have just two more fixtures, both in nearby Rawalpindi, in which to conjure up some timely festive cheer.
"I think we play our best cricket when we enjoy it," said Paul Collingwood who can always be relied upon to remain upbeat. "It's not as if we are down and out. We have a lot of pride and want to show it. The boys are up for it and realise what we have to do. We're not just going to lie down and lose these last two games."
Despite Collingwood's optimism, the omens are not promising.
England have not won an overseas one-day series of note since Adam Hollioake's men triumphed in the Sharjah desert eight years ago. Last winter, despite winning the opening match of the series in South Africa, they slumped to a 4-1 defeat, a performance so disjointed that not even Kevin Pietersen's supreme series haul of 454 runs in six innings could galvanise them.
Pakistan's coach Bob Woolmer remains confident that his side would soon be adding the one-day trophy to the Test crown they claimed at Lahore two weeks ago. "If we continue to play as we are, it will be a tough assignment for England," he said. "But we are not going to underestimate them."