Preparing pitches might backfire on Proteas
A PICTURE in the office Chris Scott shares at the Wanderers serves as a reminder of the peril the wicket at the Bullring used to hold.
Now consulting to new groundsman Bethuel Buthelezi, Scott points to the picture when asked when last a green top awaited the players on the opening morning of a test in Johannesburg.
The picture, captured from the western side of the ground, has the players in the foreground. But behind them — as if to provide context to England’s plight amid deepening gloom — the numbers on the scoreboard burn brightly. The tourists were two for four on the opening morning of their test in late November 1999.
Allan Donald took six and Shaun Pollock the rest as the tourists were removed for 122.
England are back in South Africa, who might be tempted to have pitches to order for the series after their ordeal in India, but they are unlikely to face conditions as bowler friendly this time around.
South Africa has a healthy respect for the visiting seam attack and, if anything, the hosts would want to limit the potential of the ball zipping around.
“I reckon there will be some moisture in the wicket on the first morning but not too much,” said Brett Proctor, the stadium manager at Kingsmead, in Durban, where the first test starts on Boxing Day, December 26.
“It is a balancing act because if it rains all day on Christmas Day and we watered it as late as the 23rd, it might be a bit juicy.
“Two tests ago against India rain was forecast but never came. It started to dry and the team was a bit unhappy with it in the sense that [Ravindra] Jadeja got six wickets but we still won the test by 10 wickets.
“I think spin will play a role later on in the test. Kingsmead has never been a break-up wicket. It turns but it is predictable turn. If you’re in, you will be able to play it.”
Newlands, in Cape Town, where the second test will be played, is a venue where spin is more likely to turn the course of events. Saeed Ajmal took 10 wickets there in 2013 but South Africa have largely built their impressive record of seven wins in their last 10 tests there on the toil of their seamers.
England may be interested to learn that the last time South Africa lost to a team other than Australia at Newlands was the year in which their coach Trevor Bayliss was born. New Zealand won the New Year’s test in 1962.
England last won at Newlands in 1957 and history also favours the Proteas at bouncy Centurion, Pretoria, where the final test will be played.
“South Africa has lost just two tests here,” reminded Titans chief executive Jacques Faul.
“Last year we lost against the Aussies and the other defeat was when Hansie [Cronje] declared [infamously, against England].
“Against the Aussies the pitch backfired against us. We haven’t had any instructions to prepare the wicket in a particular way. Either way, you have to be careful.”
What Faul cautions against is probably more likely to happen at the Wanderers where the Proteas have lost to England, India and Australia (twice) in the past 10 years.
Scott has a theory on why the Proteas have come up short against teams with similar characteristics. “The Proteas play so much overseas that they are not that accustomed to the bounce at home. As much as it beats the opposition, it also beats us.”
❛ If anything, the hosts would want to limit the potential of the ball zipping around