Mohamed Tauqir, the UAE captain, won the toss and inserted Pakistan in Napier. UAE named the same XI that was thrashed by India, and the decision to bowl first on a pitch that is usually full of runs might be interpreted as a reaction to that game. UAE were bowled out for just 102 in Perth.
The match is effectively a must-win encounter for the two teams propping up the Group B table. Pakistan have won only once in their first three fixtures and UAE remain winless.
Pakistan kept faith with the same XI that defeated Zimbabwe, meaning no recall for legspinner Yasir Shah or specialist wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. That meant Nasir Jamshed had another opportunity to impress after a wretched start to the tournament. With one run in two innings and some less-than-athletic fielding, he may well require a strong performance to see off the challenge from Safaraz, who is also pushing to take the gloves from Umar Akmal.
Despite warm weather, there is a disappointing crowd of perhaps 250 at McLean Park for the start of the game.
Pakistan: 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Akmal (wk), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sohaib Maqsood, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Sohail Khan, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Mohammad Irfan
UAE: 1 Amjad Ali, 2 Andri Berenger, 3 Krishna Chandran, 4 Khurram Khan, 5 Swapnil Patil (wk), 6 Shaiman Anwar, 7 Rohan Mustafa, 8 Amjad Javed, 9 Mohammad Naveed, 10 Mohammad Tauqir (capt), 11 Manjula Guruge
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