Preview: The stunning win over West Indies is in the past. Ireland can’t afford a slip-up against UAE

Ireland are finally back in action in the Cricket World Cup tonight...

After what seems like an eternity since their superb victory against West Indies last Monday, Ireland's cricketers face the UAE in Brisbane on Wednesday morning (3.30am Irish time) looking to avoid a costly slip-up that would undo all the good work done in Nelson last week. The opposition The UAE are in their first World Cup and on paper are the weakest team in the tournament. Ireland have had their way with the Emiratis over the past decade or so, winning 11 of 13 games, including their last four, but the UAE gave a good account of themselves in their opening defeat by Zimbabwe and will have certainly targeted the Irish game as their best opportunity to leave the World Cup with a victory. Captain Khurram Khan may be 43 but averages 52 in one-day games and became the oldest man to score an ODI century in November against Afghanistan, while Shaiman Anwar is in good form after scoring 67 from 59 balls against Zimbabwe. The ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground is better known as The Gabba and is one of the iconic arenas on the Australian sporting landscape. The pitch Both sides have had little time on the field due to the recent storms to hit Brisbane, but the Gabba traditionally suits pace bowlers that can get up a head of steam, an asset in short supply in both these teams. Ireland's seamers will hope to extract a little bit of swing from the pitch to trouble the UAE batting order, while spinners George Dockrell and Andy McBrine extracted little turn in Nelson but were still effective. Irish players to watch Ireland were one of the few teams in the tournament so far to win the toss and elect to bowl, so there's a good chance that whatever way the coin falls the UAE will bat first, meaning those tuning in over their cornflakes will be picking up the start of the Irish run chase. Ireland will feel confident of chasing down almost any total against a mediocre bowling attack. With Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce and Niall O'Brien leading the way against West Indies, captain William Porterfield will be eager to announce his arrival at this World Cup, while wicketkeeper Gary Wilson has a good record against UAE. The 24-year-old Andy Balbirnie is also in good nick after scoring 63 not out in the warm-up match against Bangladesh a fortnight ago. What they've said 'I think it’s reinforced everything as opposed to shot the confidence up. I think our preparation up until that has been fantastic and the lads are in a good place' - Porterfield on the West Indies triumph 'They know they have chances because they beat West Indies, so obviously the extra pressure will be on them. We've played a lot of games [against Ireland] and we know their weaknesses. It's a wonderful opportunity because it's a very important game for us as well. We're targeting definitely this game.' - UAE captain Khurram Khan https://twitter.com/Irelandcricket/status/569954778886889472 https://twitter.com/DeclanRooney/status/570157885067366401 https://twitter.com/balbo90/status/570215464208453636 Played    Points     Net R/R India       2              4           +2.06 WI           3              4           +1.34 Ire            1              2           +0.62 SA            2              2           -0.68 Zim         3              2            -0.83 UAE        1              0            -0.26 Pak          2             0            -2.26 Victory for Ireland would give them a great chance of the top-four finish needed to go through to the knockout stages, however the West Indies' victory over Pakistan has given them fresh life and could complicate matters.  Net run rate could come into play, so the size of any potential win over the Emirates could play a factor later on.