Somerville debuts as Kiwis bat

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Monday, with former New South Wales spinner Will Somerville winning a debut for the Kiwis.

After being born in New Zealand, Somerville moved to Australia as a child and debuted for NSW at Sheffield Shield level in 2014.

He took 35 wickets for the Blues during the 2016/17 Shield season, but asked to be released from his contract earlier this year to chase international honours in New Zealand.

The 34-year-old has been included in New Zealand's XI to replace leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, while experienced pacer Tim Southee returns in place of Neil Wagner.

Pakistan were forced to leave out Mohammad Abbas who injured his shoulder in Dubai. 

He is replaced by 18-year-old left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is making his debut.

There is all to play for in the match as the series is level at 1-1, after New Zealand won the first Test by four runs in Abu Dhabi and Pakistan bounced back with an innings and 16 runs victory in Dubai.

Teams

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Hassan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling, Ajaz Patel, Jeet Raval, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor