In his very first knock in Australian whites, Aaron Finch gave the strongest indication yet he's got the makings of a Test opener.

A head blow to the man he was supposed to open with overshadowed the second day of Australia's tour match against Pakistan A, but Finch's tidy half-century pushed him ever closer to an elusive Baggy Green.

The punchy right-hander with more international caps than any other Australian without a Test looks to have all but secured a berth for the series-opener beginning Saturday.

Finch looked commanding in his 91-ball 54 against a strong Pakistan A pace attack, featuring Test bowlers Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz, while he was untroubled by the spinners.

Granted, the quality of slow-bowling he faced is nowhere the level he'll see if he gets the nod to play the Yasir Shah-led Pakistan next week, though the sheer amount of turn on offer on a dry ICC Academy surface has made even the most part-time spinner a threat over the first two days’ play.

Finch cracked seven boundaries in all, but it was his restraint against the honest off-spin of Iftikhar Ahmed that distinguished this knock from the kind of bludgeoning performance he's put up time and again in limited-overs cricket.

"The conditions dictated that (patience) a little bit, the wicket was pretty slow," said the 33-year-old after Shaun (54 not out) and Mitch Marsh (53 not out) pushed Australia to 2-207 at stumps on day two.

"With fielders in front of the wicket you're not going to get off to a flyer, you're not going to score as freely as you would if the wicket had a bit more pace and bounce in it. It's just about playing the conditions as well you can.

"It was nice to get out in the middle after training away for the best part of a week and doing the hard yards. It was good to finally get out in the middle."

No batsman has more Twenty20 runs this calendar year than Finch but the powerful right-hander understands the longer game has different demands.

His past 36 months have seen him pile on 1974 first-class runs at 48.14, figures that appear even more impressive when the drop-in, fly-out, drop-back-in-again rhythm of Sheffield Shield for Australia's limited-overs players – which he has been exclusively until now – is factored in.

Finch has found his groove with Victoria in their middle-order and says he hasn't had time to consider whether he should recast himself as an opener against the red ball back in Australia.

But the top of the order is where his success against the while ball has been and the fact batting can be less challenging against the new ball in the subcontinent – a counterintuitive concept for Australians – could play in his favour in the UAE.

"It's pretty similar to be honest," Finch said of opening in the longer format compared to shorter ones. "It's still about playing my natural game which is quite aggressive generally.

"In these kinds of conditions, if you go nowhere and the scoreboard stands still for a long time, you can be a sitting duck. There are some world-class (bowlers).

"It's still about playing my natural game, there will be an opportunity to taper that slightly with the conditions and with the wicket.

"You have to pick your moments and pick your bowlers, pick your balls and just to do it for as long as you can."