Spent South Africa pack up in Pakistan

Some collapses aren't easy to quantify. South Africa's crash in the third ODI against Pakistan in Faisalabad on Saturday, for example. Did they lose five wickets for 16 runs? Or 8/37? Or 10/71?

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All of the above. Bowled out for 143 in 37.5 overs, they ended their tour with the whimper of a fifth loss - by seven wickets with a record 149 balls remaining - in eight matches across the formats.

The South Africans drew the Test series and lost the white-ball rubbers despite taking both to deciding games. Saturday's result sealed their first loss in all five ODI series they have played against these opponents in Pakistan or on neutral grounds.

There will be disappointment at the result, but not with the fact that the tour is over. Several of the South Africans have voiced their appreciation for the warmth with which they were received by their hosts. That doesn't take the edge off the truth that they have spent the past 32 days holed up in hotels when they have not been travelling, training or playing. For people used to walking the streets of their own country freely without being mobbed or becoming security threats, that wouldn't have been easy.

"You have to sleep a bit longer to make your days a bit shorter," Tony de Zorzi said in a video broadcast between innings on Saturday. During a press conference on Friday, he said: "In the sub, especially in places like Pakistan and Bangladesh, you get into a routine because you can't leave the hotel. It's a grind on and off the field."

That wasn't a complaint. De Zorzi was explaining what had helped him score 104 and 55 in the Tests and 76 in the second ODI.