Shoib Malik

It is unlikely Malik read the column before he went out to open today against India. But as the beginnings of a response, his wasn't half bad. Malik as a top-order batsman is a different beast altogether to Malik anywhere else. Indeed, part of the problem through his career, why people never think him a certain starter, is that he has never made one spot his own. Instead he has batted here, there and everywhere.

Why this is so is unclear. The 58 ODIs in his career where he has batted in the top four, he averages nearly 44 from. All his centuries and nearly half his fifties have come from here. More than all these stats, he looks more authoritative up there, able to run the singles and take advantage of fielding restrictions, as he did here.