UAE choose to field against Pakistan

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 29: Warm up balls are seen during day four of the Fourth Ashes Test Match between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 29, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 29: Warm up balls are seen during day four of the Fourth Ashes Test Match between Australia and England at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 29, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Published Mar 4, 2015

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Napier - United Arab Emirates captain Mohammed Tauqir has gone against the grain by electing to field first at McLean Park in their cricket World Cup Pool B clash against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Most teams who win the toss tend to bat first in Napier, on what is considered the best batting pitch in New Zealand.

Both sides are unchanged from their previous matches which saw Pakistan beat Zimbabwe and UAE hammered by India in Perth.

Pakistan must win against a side they are familiar with, having lost their first two games at the tournament.

Security concerns in Pakistan have meant Misbah ul-Haq's side play their international 'home' series in UAE. They have fashioned a solid record in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

“We've played most of our cricket in UAE, so you could say it's home for us and whatever we have achieved and whatever we've done in the last four years is due to UAE and that has played a big part and an important part in Pakistan's cricket,” Misbah said on Tuesday.

Pakistan's batsmen have failed to fire so far at the tournament.

The McLean Park pitch provides true pace and bounce, while the small, square boundaries tend to make matches high scoring affairs. New Zealand scored 369 for five here against Pakistan last month.

Pakistan- Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan.

UAE- Amjad Ali, Andri Berenger, Krishna Chandran, Khurram Khan, Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil, Rohan Mustafa, Amjad Javed, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Tauqir (captain), Manjula Guruge.

Reuters

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