IT has been ages since we saw a consistent pair of Pakistan openers settle down in Tests. The last such pair that comes to mind is that of Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar who for a number of years provided the sort of stability that helps a team lay a solid foundation and a decent start to the innings.

But when the two prolific players left the scene, things went awry as far as the opening pair is concerned. Various players had their turn and a number of permutations were experimented with but none were able to hold on successfully for a longer period.

Lack of skills, inability to concentrate for a longer period of time at the crease and weakness on the moving ball caused major impediments in handling the situation as openers for those who were given chances over the years.

Besides, an influx of limited-over games where batsmen have to hit out and often get into the habit of playing across the line, also affected the techniques of the opening batsmen tried in Tests.

Poor starts to innings has been one of the major causes of Pakistan’s low totals in Tests of late - not only here in UAE but also in other countries.

In the ongoing series against New Zealand as well as in the previous series that Pakistan played here in the UAE, they were let down by their openers, and this Test is no different.

Mohammad Hafeez fared well for some years but presently he seems to have lost the touch and as years pass by his performances have not been up to the mark. His soft dismissal on Tuesday, and that of his partner Imam-ul-Haq, has once again put Sarfraz Ahmed and his team’s middle and lower-middle-order under pressure to repair the damage and gradually build a decent total.

Imam had started his career well but has been suffering from lack of concentration which is evident from the fact that he gets hit on the body much too often. For an opening batsman, whether he is a left-hander or right handed, it is important to first judge the line and pace of the ball and the pitch to make sure when to leave or duck or negotiate the moving ball.

It is important to sway away from the rising delivery and learn the skills of ducking underneath a lethal bouncer to avoid serious injury and also tackle the swinging yorkers to avoid being a crushed toe. I know batsmen who ended up in hospitals in county cricket while facing Waqar Younis’ lethal swinging yorkers at his peak.

Imam, if he wants to stay in the game for long, will have to improve on all those skills to save his place in the team.

On Tuesday, despite the early loss of the openers, Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail steadied the innings and now Asad Shafiq is there at the crease. With Babar Azam and Sarfraz to come, Pakistan can still make a befitting reply to New Zealand’s total of 274.

A word about BJ Watling’s knock of 77. It was quite uncharacteristic but very useful and held the New Zealand innings together before Bilal Asif ran through.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2018