It's only two Tests but the imminent contest between Pakistan and South Africa is deservedly attracting some attention. The Proteas don't play many series so any opportunity to watch Steyn, Smith et al should be relished. At the same time, Pakistan have plenty of talent, from the young guns and world-class spinners to veteran batsmen. The familiar refrain is that you never know 'which Pakistan will turn up' but on their adopted 'home' territory they have a pretty impressive record.
Twelve matches: six wins, four draws and two defeats read the statistics since 2002. Early that year, Pakistan got off to a great start by thrashing Carl Hooper's Windies at Sharjah. If it was a spinner's paradise, the results didn't reflect it. Centuries from Yousuf Youhana and Rashid Latif set up a 170-run victory, further abetted by wickets from Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar rather than star slowies Danish Kaneria (before his fall from grace) and Saqlain Mushtaq. It was an even bigger winning margin a week later with Younis, Waqar and Shoaib again calling the shots, along with a rare Test century from a young opener called Shahid Afridi.
However, Pakistan's next Test in the Middle East resulted in humiliating defeat at the hands of Australia who bowled out Waqar Younis' side for less than 60 - twice! In under two days! To make matters worse, Matthew Hayden outscored twenty-two Pakistani innings on his own while Shane Warne returned match figures of 8-24. The following week, Steve Waugh's all-conquering Aussies wrapped up another innings victory, Glenn McGrath and Warne being far too good for a side which included Misbah-ul-Haq, then an inexperienced international aged only (!) 28.
It was several years before Test cricket returned to the UAE following the security issues which have now robbed Pakistan of home advantage for four years. Three years ago, South Africa came to Dubai and swept to 307-2 before Umar Gul and the spinners pulled them back into the match. The second half of the game was dominated by batsmen with unbeaten centuries from Amla and Kallis then that man Younis Khan again so a draw was the predictable outcome. It was the same result at Abu Dhabi although this time the runs were mostly scored early on. AB De Villiers made 278 not out, still a career best, although Younis failed.
In 2011, Pakistan edged a three-Test series against Sri Lanka, clinching the second by nine wickets thanks largely to eight wickets from Saeed Ajmal. The same bowler added seven more victims at Sharjah and shared the player of the series award with Sangakkara. Oh, and Younis Khan struck a first-innings 122. Then in 2012 came the series that England would prefer to forget. Yes, that was one of the most spin-dominated Test series for years. Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman cleaned up, even if Swann and Panesar also put on a show in the concluding two fixtures. In the finale, Azhar Ali and - guess who? - Younis Khan shared a double-century stand which demonstrated that runs were actually possible.
Younis and Taufeeq Umar have each played in every Test played in the UAE and the former needs just 83 more runs to reach the 1000 mark. With the ball, Saeed Ajmal has 45 wickets to his name at only 23.73 apiece, so it will be interesting to see if Abdur Rehman (33 at 30) is preferred this time around. Will the pitches turn? If so, will Graeme Smith and his Saffer batsmen have the upper hand? It could be a fascinating showdown, but unless the pitches are prepared specifically for spin, South Africa could well inflict the first desert defeats for Pakistan for eleven years.
