Jonathan Agnew
BBC Test Match Special

"Small but excitable, the crowd today. One or two England supporters, I can see a large Arsenal flag at the far end. I met a bloke in the lift today with a Lancashire accent who said he wasn't coming - I think transport may be an issue here."

Irfan has a wonderful mop of black hair that bounces behind him like a cape as he runs in. He starts with a leg-side wide, but after that Roy struggles to get some back-of-a-length stuff through the five-man ring. Only a single to third man comes from the six legal balls. 

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

"We've heard England talk about this as a learning environment and bouncing back quickly - the bowlers weren't in good touch in the first game, but Woakes has come back with two four-fors. This team is building for the future and looking good."

Image source, Getty Images

There's noise in Dubai, greeting the England openers, who are out in the middle. Jason Roy is on strike, in sunlight, Alex Hales is at the other end in shade. Mohammad Irfan, who we all know is built like a skyscraper, has the white leather.

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"Woakes is a great competitor, a model pro. He's just trying to get back to where he was nine months ago, when he was playing in every format. It'd be interesting to see how Adil Rashid feels [about being dropped from the Test squad] - but he'll be feeling better than Liam Plunkett.

"There was a logic to leaving Rashid out as you'd not be comfortable about playing him as the solitary spinner in South Africa. Mind you, you might nor be comfortable with Samit Patel in that role..."

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"Eoin Morgan said the other night that the Taylor-Buttler partnership was the most significant that he's seen in this series, as England had lost before from positions like that."

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

"I think it's a good call to bat first in these conditions - we haven't seen many runs in ODIs on this ground in the last year, the top six have all scored runs in this series and it's a good chance to post a positive score."

Jonathan Agnew
BBC Test Match Special

"The pitch appears to have a bit more colour on it than the other games in this series, which were more like cement. England have been unchanged throughout this series, but not necessarily in the way they've played."

Jonathan Agnew
BBC Test Match Special

"A lovely warm day, with just a hint of wispy white cloud."

BBC Test Match Special

And, whilst you're ruminating on all of that, you may want to listen to our team of experts in the UAE.

Test Match Special is just whirring on to the airwaves and you can listen by hitting the 'live coverage' tab at the top of this page.

Liam Johnson: I'm sure the decision to omit Rashid is he won't play in SA & it frees him up for the Big Bash, better for him & us long term

Got all that? Time to let you you off the leash, to allow you to mark out your long run-up. Yes I want your thoughts on today's game, but I can't help but think our conversation will drift towards that Test squad. Text 81111, tweet using the hashtag #bbccricket, external or email tms@bbc.co.uk.

And if you manage to squeeze in a mention of 4 Non Blondes, all the better...

Pakistan: Azhar Ali (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan.

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), James Taylor, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Reece Topley.

Umpires are Pakistan's Ahsan Raza and New Zealand's Chris Gaffaney, with Johan Cloete (South Africa) on TV replays.

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali: "We know how important this game is, we want to win and everyone is focused, we will give it our best shot."

I say no surprises that England are batting first, but seven of the last nine ODIs on this ground have been won by the team chasing. Not like England to go against the stats...

England captain Eoin Morgan: "It looks a pretty good track, better on the last two grounds batting-wise. Today's all about opportunities we've created, it's all about putting in the performance."

Image source, Getty Images

Eoin Morgan calls correctly (heads, in case you're wondering). It's el scorchio in Dubai, the deck looks a road. No surprises that he'll bat first. England are unchanged.