Undercooked New Zealand face UAE grilling

November 9-13, 2014, Abu Dhabi
Start time 10:00 local, 06:00 GMT

Series win over West Indies and India at home. Series win over West Indies away. New Zealand should be on a roll with that kind of momentum behind them. The only problem is all of that happened three months ago. So there really is no momentum to draw from, unlike Pakistan who are in red-hot form.

But the only way forward for New Zealand is also their best hope of posing a threat: staying patient, playing time and building an advantage that can be capitalised upon. New Zealand's opening partnership has hit the rocks recently - it has provided only one century stand in the last two years, though they will hope Brendon McCullum's shift to the top of the order will help change that. The return of Kane Williamson though will perk up the visitors and his proficiency against spin will come in handy, as will BJ Watling's tenacity and Brendon McCullum's aggression.

Pakistan haven't had better luck with their own top-two either. But the rest of the line-up has proven to be incredibly resilient recently. Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq are as strong as backbone as any and Sarfraz Ahmed has developed a good habit of providing momentum down the order. And they have learned to click together.

The more telling battle will be between either side's spinners. Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah might not have much mystery about them, but their manipulation of flight and line has been impressive for a pair who were forced together. Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi have to find a way to match them in unfamiliar conditions.

Considering how packed the cricket calendar can be, there is reason for a double-take when you see that New Zealand and Pakistan have met each other only five times in Tests over the past decade. So both teams will want to gauge their opponents and hope they don't blink first.

Form guide

(most recent matches first)

Pakistan WWLLW
New Zealand WLWDW

New Zealand might have the best new-ball pair in Test cricket at the moment, but Pakistan have an equally potent weapon to blunt them - the Abu Dhabi pitch. When last called into service, it bankrolled 863 runs for Misbah's men at a highly nominal fee of nine wickets. Tim Southee and Trent Boult are not known to shy away from a challenge, but they wouldn't mind being outshone by Ish Sodhi's leg spin once in a while. Far from a finished product, the 22-year old's potential has been highly advertised and he displayed some of it during a five-wicket haul against Pakistan A. Now if he can do the same against the senior side as well.

At the other end of the spectrum is Yasir Shah. He prefers bowling a little quick which can be an asset on UAE's slow pitches. Though the odd ball does end up short, he generates enough zip off the track to consume batsmen who underestimate him. Still, he is only one series old and can be susceptible to pressure if New Zealand's batsmen give themselves the chance to dictate terms.

A flawless performance against Australia has allowed the Pakistan think tank to carry the same squad into this series and it is likely that they might not tinker with the XI either.

Pakistan (likely) 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Zulfiqar Babar, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Imran Khan

New Zealand have already announced their XI*, and that Brendon McCullum will open. There were some doubts over Ross Taylor's availability due to a calf injury, but he has been picked for the game. With two spinners, the established new-ball quicks and two allrounders in Corey Anderson and James Neesham, New Zealand have given themselves plenty of bowling options.

New Zealand 1 Tom Latham, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Corey Anderson, 6 James Neesham, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Tim Southee, 9 Mark Craig, 10 Ish Sodhi 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

Abu Dhabi does not present a pretty picture for bowlers. Spinners would prefer the dryness on the pitch, but they would also want a big total backing them to induce the batsmen into making mistakes.

Quotes

"The temperature seems to be pretty nice today at Sharjah. To be fair, it wasn't quite as bad as we were expecting in terms of the high heat"
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson will hope Abu Dhabi offers a similar reception

* November 9 3am GMT: This story was updated after New Zealand announced their XI