Stodgers, flayers, stylists
Opening has been one of Pakistan's most thorny problems - which is not to say that there haven't been fine, even great, openers in the team's history
The contenders
Abrasive and aggressive, Sohail formed one half of Pakistan's last successful and stable opening pairs with Saeed Anwar. He was particularly strong off the back foot, though as a fluent double-hundred at Old Trafford in 1992 showed, he had the nous to expand his game. He also brings to the table useful spin, good catching hands and an attitude.
When renowned coach Alf Gover set eyes upon a young, yet-to-debut Hanif in 1951, he said he wouldn't change a thing about him (and advised others not to do so as well), so complete was he. The most technically sound opening batsman Pakistan have had, by some distance, Hanif also possessed a most critical quality: patience. Naturally an attacking batsman, Hanif chose stoic abstinence to further the cause of a Pakistan side full of merry strokemakers. Like Bradman's average, Hanif's 16-hour Bridgetown marathon of defiance will not be easily - if ever - bettered.
A pair on debut doesn't promise much, but like Graham Gooch, Anwar forged a remarkable career from that adversity. The magic was in his wrists, and he had such timing and sense of placement that poor footwork hardly mattered. He was a very modern opener, in that he attacked no matter what the format and situation; and that he maintains the highest average of this august company says many things.
Somehow it is fitting that one of Pakistan's best openers didn't even start life as one, or that he took to the role so late. Majid remains one of the country's most stylish opening batsmen. He loved to hook and the driving was, on its day, a thing of joy. He did it all looking as if he hardly cared. That he is one of the best slippers ever from Pakistan is a bonus.
A solid contrast to his regular partner, the flashier Mohsin Khan, Mudassar was a batsman of immense patience, though not as compact as Hanif or with as many strokes. He holds the record for the slowest Test hundred, and alongside his father, Nazar Mohammad, is one of only four Pakistanis to carry their bat through a completed innings. In the right conditions, a more than handy swing bowler.
A right-hander at birth, he was told to switch by elder brothers Hanif and Wazir because they felt he had more of a chance of succeeding that way. Sadiq was immensely brave, like all the Mohammad brothers, once saving a Test against West Indies with a heroic unbeaten 98, made after bearing a fierce facial injury. Loved taking on faster bowlers and scored runs in what were for Pakistanis tough conditions. Pakistan's success in the 70s was based on his partnership with Majid.
Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo