Their young side displayed signs of inexperience and excellence in equal measure as they surpassed the county side's 231 for seven.

They claimed a third win in four matches in the British Isles but could easily have lost from a position of 151 for five in the 31st over.

It had looked so comfortable when openers Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez produced an electrifying stand which threw Leicestershire's second-string attack off line.

Hafeez produced a man-of-the-match performance, his off-spin reaping figures of one for 26 from 10 overs before a half-century of deft touches took the tourists to within 100 of victory.

A mid-innings wobble synonymous with Pakistan caused some discomfort to their hopes but captain Rashid Latif and Younis Khan, two of the more experienced members of a new-look squad, stamped their authority on the contest in sharing 81 runs in 10 overs.

Their strokeplay released the shackles which were imposed by the county's three off-spinners Brad Hodge, Jeremy Snape and Virender Sehwag. They attacked from the outset, both striking regular boundaries and scoring at better than a run a ball.

That was reminiscent of early in the innings when Nazir, in particular, launched into left-arm seamer Matt Whiley, whose initial five-over spell cost 44.

Without usual new-ball pair Philip DeFreitas and Charlie Dagnall, who were resting, Leicestershire's seamers struggled to gain control and Nazir brought up the 50 with a huge pulled six off Whiley before falling in the same over for a 24-ball 30 as a yorker careered into off-stump off his boot.

He limped off gingerly which could be cause for concern ahead of Tuesday's opening one-day international against England at Old Trafford.

Shoaib Akhtar finished wicketless but built up his pace as he continues to strive for match fitness ahead of Friday's second encounter with England at The Oval.

The Rawalpindi Express is in the middle of an International Cricket Council ban imposed for ball tampering and will not feature in Manchester, where all-rounder Azhar Mahmood should return after impressive displays with Surrey.

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