Established: 2009
Capacity: 25,000
Floodlights: Yes
Ends: Emirates Road End, Dubai Sports City End
Home Team: Pakistan
Test history: 3 Tests (2 home wins, 1 draw)
3 Tosses: 3 batted first (1 draw, 2 defeats)

Overview
One of four planned or completed stadiums in the ever-evolving Dubai Sports City, the world's first ever purpose-built athletic metropolis, Dubai International Cricket Stadium weighs in with plenty of impressive numbers.

Flanked by football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, handball and netball facilities, the 25,000-seater boasts an unsurpassed 350 floodlights across its 'ring of fire'.

Unique in that its lighting is lavished entirely across the stadium's stands rather than individual pylons, the ground brags arguably the best playing visibility across the planet.

A 30-floor, five-star hotel, state-of-the-art electronic scoreboard, shaded rafters for every single spectator, oversized dressing rooms, a voluptuous media centre, gymnasiums, swimming pools and a world-class drainage system - the plush, excessive desert oasis has it all.

Reuters news agency has quoted "informed sources" suggesting the PCB are remunerated 800,000 pounds for each event in Dubai, so it's little wonder the they are happy to act as pseudo 'hosts' while their real home grounds are without international cricket.

Last Time Out
It was just a couple of weeks ago, so you'll probably recall that England were spun out in just three days, largely as a result of a disastrous first session in which they lost five wickets after electing to bat first.

The 10-wicket defeat could be put down to three factors: a pitch that offered the bowlers something, England's rustiness and general ineptitude against spin, and a stellar Pakistani performance with bat and ball.

Saeed Ajmal had three wickets by lunch on the first day and finished the match with 10, but just as impressive was Umar Gul's burst on the third day when he tore the admittedly weak heart out of England's batting.

In between Pakistan showed that there were plenty of runs in the pitch if batsmen were willing to be patient.

Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar scored a run every two balls in an opening stand of 114, but the middle order grafted hard, with Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Adnan Akmal all scoring their runs at a strike rate of less than 50.

England, who saw most of their batsmen perish as they tried to force the pace - none more brainless than Kevin Pietersen, who hooked straight down deep square leg's throat - will know they need to approach the third Test with a better plan.

Happy Hunting Ground
After comprehensive wins here against Sri Lanka and England - as well as a strong draw against South Africa - very few of Pakistan's players have a poor record in Dubai.

Among the batsmen, Mohammad Hafeez averages 72, Azhar Ali 62, Misbah-ul-Haq 59 and Younis Khan a rather handy 86.

Naturally, Saeed Ajmal is top of the bowling pops after his ten-for here two weeks ago, and now has 21 wickets from three Tests at an average of 19.38.

None of England's players covered themselves in glory, but Matt Prior made an unbeaten 70 in the first innings while Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers, even if he finished with three wickets to Graeme Swann's four.

They Said
"It's not easy to score freely on this pitch. The track is slow and if you try to score fast you could end up playing a silly shot and losing your wicket. On this pitch you have to take your time. This is the kind of pitch where one good spell can run through a batting line-up." - Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali sums it up pretty well.

"We were caught off guard in that first session of the first day on a very flat wicket. From then on Pakistan never let us back into the game. You have to congratulate them for the way they played, but we're disappointed with the way we batted in both innings, particularly the first innings as it wasn't a 50 for 5 wicket." Andrew Strauss reflects on England's defeat in the first Test.

Weather
Much like Abu Dhabi in the second Test, Dubai will be slightly nippy in the mornings since it's the middle of winter. The days will be sunny and warm though, with highs in the mid-20s.

Conclusion
In stark contrast to its first Test, Dubai served up an even contest between bat and ball last year, and was even sportier in its third Test last month. Like a fine wine, the pitch appears to be improving over time.

That's not to say that the ball is darting about, but it tends to do just enough to reward good bowling if batsmen aren't willing to be patient.

England tried to force the pace too much in the first Test and paid dearly, but were perhaps overly cagey against spin in Abu Dhabi. It's worth noting though that there was more turn on offer in the second Test, and so a more circumspect approach in the final Test will probably serve England better.

With the series gone this is the ideal opportunity for Andrew Strauss and his men to brush up their techniques against spin - something which is clearly needed ahead of a trip to Sri Lanka.

Pakistan will doubtless go in with two spinners once again, while England will probably follow suit after Chris Tremlett's struggles in the first Test and Monty Panesar's success in the second.