As bleary-eyed Australia celebrated its cricketers' World Cup victory yesterday, Prime Minister John Howard said he was considering a day of celebration to mark the win. But in Karachi irate fans burned an effigy of Pakistan captain Wasim Akrim.

"I haven't had a lot of sleep the last week or 10 days but it's all been in a tremendous cause," Howard said.

Added evidence of Australia's collective sleep deprivation came as the Nine Network said its preliminary ratings showed some 4.5 million Australians had stayed up to watch the win over Pakistan.

That put the World Cup final on par with the Olympic Games and the Australian Football League's Grand Final, the network said.

The broadcasts from England have gone well into the early morning hours in Australia all through the World Cup and the sight of droopy-lidded cricket fans has become common throughout the tournament.

But Australia's thrashing of Pakistan came relatively early yesterday morning, wrapping up around 1:30 am Sydney time and allowing newspapers to hail it on their front pages.

"Swift and Sweet" the Australian sang out on its front page, while Sydney tabloid the Daily Telegraph went with a simple "We Won" and the Sydney Morning Herald blared "Aussies storm to World Cup glory" over a picture of a jubilant Shane Warne and captain Steve Waugh.

However, the scene in Karachi, was so different where cricket fans, furious at their team's dismal display, burned an effigy of captain Wasim Akram.

In the nearby city of Hyderabad, disgruntled youths burned tyres and pelted vehicles with stones.

Some Pakistanis watching the final fainted, others burst into tears and one elderly man in the central town of Jacobabad died of shock. Meanwhile, Howard said that he was considering a national day of celebration that might allow cricket fans to catch up on sleep.

"I always knew Australians would turn up at work but I always knew they'd be a bit more tired and I think everybody understands that," the prime minister said.

However, where the main celebration will occur immediately became an issue as the country's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, announced rival plans for ticker tape parades.

Pakistanis living in Australia sought to soften the blow of the embarrassing loss amid reports captain Wasim Akram was considering a delayed return home because of fears for his life.

Karachi police detained a man for beating up his brother who last week had named his son after Wasim Akram.

Tahir ul Qadri, leader of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik Islamic political party, called for an investigation into the defeat and said players should be punished if allegations of match-fixing were proved.

Several members of the Pakistani side are due to hear their fate soon with the imminent release of a judicial inquiry into alleged match-fixing in the past.