Wellington Street en route to Lord's is lined with Pakistan paraphanalia today. 'East Or West, Pakistan Is Best' banners and multitudes of team replica team shirts ranging from the 1992 World Cup to this year's stopgap trip to Dubai proliferate the short walk from St John's Wood tube station to the East Gate, where fans and dignitaries alike are treated to a rather lacklustre security inspection.

Whereas the Group and Super Eights stages saw one subjected to a veritable bodily cavity check, today I managed to escape with my pride and pants intact as an overworked official went through the jaded motions.

The ICC's questionable ranking of cricket correspondents has me holed out in the overflow area (a hastily converted bar) along with a host of other writers and photographers deemed not important enough for a presence in the hallowed press centre or even the John Edrich Stand overflow.

The weather is its same overcast self that has thwarted my wish to escape the South African winter for an English summer. Again there is a chill in the air that seems my attire upped from yesterday's shirt and jacket to vest, shirt, jersey and jacket.

Sri Lanka supporters stick out like a saw thumb here. The Home of Cricket resembles a jampacked Gaddafi Stadium with smatterings of Sinhalese Sports Club goers dotted here and there. Emirates and a couple of other endorsers have cashed in on the sub-continental affair, with droves of volunteers handing out blue and green sponsor-logo emblazened 'four' and 'six' signs. You can guess which number cutout is the more popular of the two.

One of the officials has just dashed past, accidentally kicking a camera over and peeving off its owner in the process. Red-faced and apologetic, he regains his composure and calmly hands out today's team sheets. No changes to either side, no surprise really.

He professes these are the batting orders too. However, I can't see Shahid Afridi batting at six, certainly not after his recent foray up the order.

And so it came to pass that Afridi, indeed, did not bat that low and instead came in at three, slapping another half-ton that saw his nation put that 2007 stroke from Misbah-ul-Haq well and truly behind them. Their captain, who earlier laughed off a loss to England as mere "fun" now holds the trophy aloft.

It's a fitting end, and though one feels for the Sri Lankans, such empathy is quickly surpassed by jubilation for the Pakistanis. They've been through a lot, too much in fact, over the past year and thoroughly deserve this day.

After all, East or West, Pakistan are actually best... for now.