'I have no problems with opening' - Malik

Shoaib Malik may well be opening in the Test series against England this summer but he doesn't seem unduly concerned about taking on the best pace attack in the game in a still unfamiliar role.

"I have no problems with opening. Basically I want to play for Pakistan and any position I don't really care. I have been asked to open and I am happy to do it. If I have to do it in England I will do," Malik told Cricinfo. Though his career as opener has experienced an uncertain start, there were signs, after a match-saving maiden Test hundred against Muttiah Muralitharan and others in Colombo, that he might be getting used to the role. "I guess I am more comfortable doing it now. That century was really special and more so because it saved the Test. Muralitharan is always a test but just as bad was the heat."

With that century, Malik now averages 42.60 (higher than his career average) from seven Tests and 11 innings as opener; the record includes two half-centuries as well, against India and the West Indies. Malik's promotion to Test opener was the Pakistan management's much-debated solution to one of the oldest ailments in Pakistan cricket - the lack of a solid opening pair. Though he made his first appearance as opener against West Indies last year, he was only installed as a semi-permanent choice in the last home season.

In three Tests against England, he helped Pakistan - with Salman Butt - to three fifty-plus partnerships though he failed to go beyond 39. As Pakistan now visit England, in vastly different conditions, they will hope for more from Malik. "Opening there will be a different experience but we will have to get used to it during the practice matches, get used to the pitches, the weather, the swing. I'm not sure the county experience I've had (with Gloucestershire) will be that relevant."

Although he hasn't fully recovered from elbow surgery, he has begun light training at the conditioning camp. "I haven't started batting or bowling yet. That will have to wait another eight days or so, but my elbow is pretty much fine now."

There is little doubt he will play, but whether he continues to do so as an opener is still uncertain. Rameez Raja, a former Pakistan opener, told Cricinfo recently that though Malik was a gifted player, "he might struggle as opener in English conditions." The view is backed up, though not in such absolutist terms, by Wasim Bari, chairman of the national selection committee.

Bari told Cricinfo, "He is a very talented player and extremely versatile. And though he can switch positions in ODIs - he is also an excellent fielder and good spinner - in Tests, I feel it is more advisable to have specialist openers. I don't know if the experiment with him will work long-term. You need specialists in that position."

Bari's selection committee has, of course, been criticised for not being patient enough with specialists such as Salman Butt, Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat though the former wicketkeeper defended the changes, pointing to Pakistan's impressive recent successes. "People keep talking about openers but look at the results we have had. Pakistan has won three Test series in a row against good opposition which is a good record. Opening is a problem area yes, but there are others as well, such as poor fielding and running between the wickets. All these areas need to be looked at too."

Whether Malik continues to open or not, Bari admits, is ultimately up to the captain and coach but if he doesn't, Pakistan can still choose one combination from three left-handed openers for the series. Farhat, Butt and Umar have all been included in the list of probables - the latter two making a comeback into the team after time out of it - but Bari doesn't seem entirely convinced by any of them.

"This game is all about confidence and when we dropped Butt, he just didn't have any confidence. Ideally a break from the game when you're low on confidence will do you good. We did the same with Mohammad Sami; if you play a player when they are low, they are likely to suffer more.

"Taufeeq looks good other than when he is playing in Tests. The pressure seems to affect him in Tests and it is all about pressure. But hopefully he can prove himself. Basically, there's very little difference between the players. Whoever is more confident at the time needs to be picked."