SEAMERS MUST SEIZE THEIR CHANCE TO SHINE
SOUTH AFRICA are back at the Bullring for the third Test today — knowing the Wanderers ground is a venue that gets results. In contrast to Cape Town, Johannesburg’s sporting centrepiece is anything but a batsman’s paradise. Of the 71 grounds to host a Test in the last 10 years, only five have a lower average score than the Wanderers, which has seen just 12 hundreds scored in this time. And grounds consultant Chris Scott promises a classic Wanderers pitch. ‘Newlands was not a particularly good Test wicket, in the sense that the best wickets have the best contests between bat and ball,’ Scott told Sportsmail. ‘Newlands very much favoured the batsmen. There will be more pace, more bounce and more movement off the deck at the Wanderers. There’s a fair bit of grass on it. ‘It won’t be a case of the batsmen getting in and thinking, “Right, now I’m going to make 200”. Normally, 300 to 350 is a good first-innings score.’ It’s the fast bowlers who profit most from the Wanderers’ hard, imported-clay base and the thin Highveld air, with seamers taking 270 of 313 wickets there in the last decade — and taking a wicket every 50 balls (the fifth best of any Test venue). It is little wonder, then, that just one of the last 10 Tests played at the Wanderers has ended in a draw. And Scott, the only groundsman ever to win a man-of-the-match award after ensuring South Africa’s rain-hit Test against New Zealand in 2000 went ahead, thinks this match will follow the trend — weather permitting, of course. ‘Wanderers is certainly a more pace attack-friendly pitch, rather than a spinners’ pitch. It doesn’t usually turn much,’ Scott said. ‘It cracks, but doesn’t actually break up. If the weather is hot it will crack more, which will make days four and five more difficult. The conditions are relatively cool at the moment, but it doesn’t take much to make it crack. ‘It will be an extremely close-fought Test but I couldn’t tell you who will win. I think, as long as there isn’t too much rain there will definitely be a result.’ With fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander still missing for South Africa, it could be England who grab this match by the horns.