No green top for Centurion Test

Curator unwilling to take a chance

“Look, everybody wants the ball to fly past the Indian batsman’s ears because they are apparently vulnerable against short deliveries.

“If we (South Africa) win the toss on that pitch and bowl them out cheaply, then I’m the hero, but think what could happen if the roles are reversed and they bowl us out cheaply,” said SuperSport Park groundsman Hilbert Smith.

“Then they demand your head and everyone wants to know what went wrong,” added Hilbert Smith.

“To make this happen, you need a lot of grass on the pitch. Then you can have a scenario where one team is bowled out for 120 while the other gets 150. Even an average seamer is then made to look world-class. That is not what you want,” he said.
Smith said he was preparing a wicket which would offer the bowlers some help on the first morning.

“I’m definitely not going to prepare a pitch where the Test will be over within three days. But it will be a pitch that will definitely offer something for the bowlers on the first morning.

“I want to prepare a pitch where it won’t just be an automatic choice to bat if you win the toss,” Smith was quoted as saying by a website.

“I want to see that first session or that first morning playing a big role, because it’s then that there has to be something for the bowlers, and the batsmen will have to stand strong to survive.”

Smith said he has already received a call from South African coach Corrie van Zyl about what is required for December 16, but refused to reveal anything.

Of the 15 Tests at SuperSport Park, South Africa have won 11, lost only one and drawn three. Smith said the weather a few days before the Test will also play a big role in how the pitch will look eventually. A Pro40 final is slated for December 10 on the pitch adjacent to the surface for the Test.