We see our first glimpse of injured West Indies talisman Chris Gayle, who is stood up in the pavilion. He is chuckling to himself about something or other. Steady Chris, don't laugh too hard and put that back out...

Jason Holder tosses the ball to, er, himself as the West Indies skipper runs in from the opposite end. And Holder almost strikes with his third ball, Berenger scooping agonisingly over the grasp of second slip before scuttling down to the boundary.

Holder makes a half-hearted LBW appeal after the last delivery - but he gets no change out of the umpire. Steady start for UAE.

West Indies quickie Jerome Taylor is the man who has the honour of bowling the first ball - and he makes a false start when he pulls up. Reload.

Not the paciest of starts from Taylor, just finding his rhythm with the first three balls, before launching a full-pitch delivery which clips the outside of Ali's left leg.

Big shout from Taylor, who consults with his skipper over a review. Will they? Won't they? Nope. They decide not to go to the review - and that's probably the right decision.

A final word from legendary West Indies paceman turned coach Curtly Ambrose for his compatriots, before UAE openers Amjad Ali and Andri Berenger walk out to the middle. Here we go...

Anthem time. Both sets of players are lined up on the field, the UAE players greeting the end of their anthem with a hearty round of applause. The West Indies boys look focused for their must-win match, staring intently forwards - apart from Darren Sammy who grins broadly, as their flag flaps in the Napier wind. Almost show-time...

United Arab Emirates: Amjad Ali, AR Berenger, Krishna Chandran, Khurram Khan, Shaiman Anwar, SP Patil†, Amjad Javed, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Tauqir*, AM Guruge, Nasir Aziz

West Indies: DR Smith, J Charles, MN Samuels, JL Carter, D Ramdin†, LMP Simmons, DJG Sammy, AD Russell, JO Holder*, KAJ Roach, JE Taylor

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Ex-England batter on BBC Test Match Special

"UAE have had a few players doing really well at this tournament, especially Shaiman Anwar with the bat, but overall they have struggled. It is a big ask for them and West Indies are going to be really fired up.

"They will try to rough them up with Taylor and Roach up top. It could be good to watch."

West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle is one of three players to score at least 200 runs in the tournament and take at least five wickets, along with Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sean Williams of Zimbabwe.

Image source, AFP

West Indies captain Jason Holder on Chris Gayle's absence: "Unfortunately Chris pulled up with sore back this morning so is missing out. Johnson Charles is the ideal man to replace him - he is an attacking batsman and we wish him well."

We are only 17 minutes into this live text commentary and I'm going to do it. Yes, I'm going to trot out the first 'will Irish eyes be smiling tonight' line.

Who are you backing to bag the two remaining quarter-final places? And - here it is - will Irish eyes be smiling tonight?

Let us know using #bbcricket on Twitter or by texting 81111. Don't be shy....

So here's the drill. India and South Africa are through to the last eight, but the final two qualifying spots are still up for grabs. Unfortunately, three into two doesn't go and so one of Pakistan, Ireland or the West Indies will miss out.

There are a number of permutations to consider. Are you paying attention? Good, then we'll begin...

The winner of the match between Pakistan and Ireland will go through in third place and will face Australia in the last eight, unless there is a tie or the game is washed out; in which case both will go through and West Indies will miss out. Ireland's poor net run rate of -1.01 means if they lose and the Windies win they are definitely out.

The West Indies have to win to stand any chance of going through, at the expense of the loser of the other game. However, the Windies could win and still go out if Pakistan lose but end up with a superior run-rate. As it stands, Pakistan have the superior rate of -0.19 to West Indies' -0.51.

The team finishing fourth in the pool will play Pool A winners New Zealand.

UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir on his side's World Cup campaign: "We are happy with our brand of cricket, it has been an enjoyable experience and a good learning process. We need to bat and bat well today."

West Indies captain Jason Holder on his team's must-win match: "Our preparation has been excellent - now it is all about putting it together today. It looks a pretty good field and we want to get stuck into UAE."

Some big team news from the West Indies camp - Chris Gayle is out. Presumably the big man is still struggling with the back injury which has been giving him some bother.

Image source, Getty Images

West Indies captain Jason Holder and his UAE counterpart Mohammad Tauqir stride into the middle. The coin goes up in the air and lands in favour of the West Indies. Holder tells us that he is going to have a bowl at UAE first.

Three teams. Two quarter-final spots. One cracking day/night* of cricket ahead.

Pool B draws to a thrilling climax as Ireland face the "biggest" one-day international in their history.

The Irish are one of three sides hoping to reach the quarter-finals, knowing a last-eight place will be secured if they beat Pakistan - the second team in the mixer - later on.

The other side hoping to knock Ireland or Pakistan out of the equation is the West Indies. The Caribbean side start today's double-header when they face the UAE - and they have to win.

* delete as appropriate