Daniel Vettori wants to see his bowlers back to their best when the Black Caps face Pakistan in the second of a three-match ODI series tomorrow.

After a cracking start in Abu Dhabi which saw New Zealand have the ‘home’ side in trouble at 0 for two and 57 for four, a Shahid Afridi-inspired Pakistan hit out and post 287 - a total Vettori and Co fell 138 runs short of in their response. And the tourists’ skipper is in no doubt as to how his team can level the score.

“We just didn’t execute as well as we could have. Afridi came in, and followed by Kamran Akmal (67 not out), played some really good cricket,” Vettori said.

“They were aggressive and hit into good areas but in the end if you want to succeed on flat wickets you have got to hit your areas more consistently and unfortunately we gave away far too many runs in the last 12 overs.”

The visitors were without the world No.1 bowler Kyle Mills and they clearly missed his pace and control when Afridi and Akmal were hitting out. And to make matters worse Vettori is unsure whether his main man will be fit for tomorrow’s vital clash.

While the Kiwi captain focused on the bowling as the reason for his side’s defeat, he also appreciated the batting left a lot to be desired as well. Only himself and Aaron Redmond troubled the scorers and that worried Vettori.

“We just lost wickets and there’s no way you can win games when you lose wickets at crucial stages - it’s as simple as that.”