Akmal collected a duck against West Indies on Tuesday

Pakistan may experiment with their batting line-up after Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez flopped as openers in the 54-run defeat by West Indies.

"Maybe Kamran Akmal could open and Hafeez will drop down," said Woolmer.

"When Afridi comes back, maybe he'll open. We have to mix and match so we have eight batsmen and six bowlers."

Woolmer added: "The point is, if you play Kamran in that position we need to fit in one other opener.

This is where someone like Abdul Razzaq would be good, but we can't deal with things we haven't got Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer

"We have a few different combinations to consider, which we will discuss before the Ireland match."

With all-rounder Afridi forced to sit out one more match after being handed a four-game ICC ban, and the injured Abdul Razzaq missing, Woolmer admitted the teams' resources were being stretched.

"This is where someone like Razzaq would be good but we can't deal with things we haven't got," Woolmer said.

"I'm sure Shahid would also be useful to us but he cannot play until the Zimbabwe game (on 21 March).

"So we have to deal with the team we have. We are very fluid but most of all we have to make sure that we get our strategies right on the field."

Pakistan's practice session on Thursday was marred when assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed, a World Cup winner in 1992, had his nose fractured by a ball.

He confirmed the injury would not prevent him from doing his job in the Caribbean.