Despite the 224-run stand by Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer which dominated the opening day of this Test series, Australia's selectors will not yet be pencilling in those two names as the pairing to take the best team in the world into the Waugh-less future. After his brilliant performance against the spin of Harbhajan Singh in India earlier this year, Hayden's once stalled career is now powering along. Hayden played steadily in the recent Ashes series and, today in Brisbane, he confirmed what most observers already knew: he will destroy modest attacks.

The question about Hayden that is still to be answered is how well he can cope with a bowler capable of exploring every crevice of his defensive technique with a high-quality new-ball spell. We will know more later in the summer, when Shaun Pollock has his turn at Hayden.

Langer's case is different. He rarely destroys Test attacks and too often struggles for hours on end.

One would have thought that two consecutive centuries as an opener after being called in to replace the highly regarded, if highly strung, Michael Slater, would have convinced critics that Langer will be opening for quite a while yet. In the end it is not how the runs are made but how many how often.

At The Oval in August Langer fought with typical determination to make a century on recall, yet was forced to retire hurt after failing to spot a short ball from Caddick, hardly a bowler in the class of an Akram or a McGrath. Langer has taken another couple on the helmet so far this southern summer.

Langer's century against New Zealand repeated the Oval effort. Solid, stolid, gritty, etcetera. There were few flowing drives, few periods when he looked in control. And he should have been given out leg-before in the first over of the match. Had Chris Cairns received the correct answer from umpire Daryl Harper, Langer would have made a duck rather than a hundred, and the critics would have been nodding in self-satisfaction.

As it is, Langer the opener still has much to prove. But although he lacks the muscle, power and punch of a hulk like Hayden or the style and charisma of a dasher like Slater, Langer will battle long and hard. And given today's middle-order collapse, every run made by the openers ended up worth far more than the bare numbers on the scoreboard.

For a day at least, Australia's openers looked a class above the middle order. It is unlikely that state of affairs will last too long.

Mark Ray has covered Australian cricket since 1987 and is also the author of a number of books on the game.

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