Pakistan may open with Malik

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan allrounder, may face the daunting task of opening the innings against a fiery England pace attack in the first Test at Multan. Younis Khan, Pakistan's vice-captain, believes that the team will do well to have an opening pair that can get the innings off to a solid start, and that Malik may be vital to Pakistan's success.

"Shoaib Malik has performed well as a batsman in the last two years and I hope he will continue to do the same," Younis told BBC Sport. "Malik has played sensibly as a middle-order batsman and I believe he can do the same as an opener. He is a good prospect."

Malik has been a success in the one-day version of the game, but has been given only a small run in Tests. In nine Tests for Pakistan, he has scored 449 runs at an average of 37.41, batting mainly at six and seven. He has opened the innings before. Against the West Indies in the second Test at Jamaica earlier this year he got scores of 13 and 64.

Pakistan have included only one specialist opener, the left-handed Salman Butt, and chances are Malik will open with him. However, there is the possibility that the team management will go for Shahid Afridi, the aggressive right-handed allrounder who has opened for Pakistan in 137 one-day games.

Pakistan's selectors have struggled to find a steady pairing since Aamir Sohail retired early in 2000, splitting up a successful partnership with Saeed Anwar. In fact, they have tried a total of 21 different combinations at the top of the order since England's last visit in 2000. Since Bob Woolmer took over as coach in June 2004, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Butt, Afridi, Malik, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal have been juggled around in the top two positions.

Younis, however, has put an emphasis on his side's bowling line-up, claiming that Pakistan's bowling attack is now the world's best. "Though England is a balanced team, I think our bowling attack is the best in the world now with a superb mixture of spin and pace," he said. "With Mushtaq Ahmed and Danish Kaneria leading the spin attack, we have got a fit pace department with Mohammad Sami alongside Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shabbir Ahmed."