How will the Centurion pitch play out?
A Test wicket needs to be balanced. It should not be a totally flat; neither should it be a bowler’s paradise. There should be support for both the batsmen and the bowlers. The Centurion wicket, which will host the first Test match between India and South
Africa, is expected to have some bounce in it.
Though that is great news for the fast bowlers, the conditions will play a major role in determining the nature of the pitch. If the weather remains warm and the wicket gets plenty of sunlight, the pitch will flatten out and the bounce will not be a concern
for the batsmen. Therefore, the weather will hold the key to the outcome of the match. The pitch will require some moisture beneath to allow the bowlers to utilise the bounce.
The groundsman at Super Sport Park, Hilbert Smith said, “I have been told to leave some grass on the wicket, so there will be bounce. I have rolled some grass into the base for that.” He also said that he wanted to prepare a balanced track. He said that
he wouldn’t like to leave too much grass on the track so that the match ends in three days. Smith said that he is in a favor of a wicket which offers bounce, and not too much movement. This will help to make the competition interesting and the match could
continue for four or the full five days.
The groundsman has also been told to leave nothing for the spinners on the wicket. The reason is that the Indian spinners have been dominant, and they rely heavily on their spin bowling rather than their pacers. Some of the South African batsmen have also
struggled to play spin well in the past.
With no assistance for the spinners, Paul Harris will also not be able to play an important role in the outcome of the match. However, Harris does have the advantage of height and if the wicket has some bounce, he can use that to deceive the Indian batsmen.
According to former South African spinner Paul Adams, “Spinners just need the bounce to be able to deceive the batsmen.”
The ground staff is almost done preparing the wicket. There had been a little delay in the preparations of the wicket, since there was a domestic tournament scheduled to be played on the same ground. Due to the tournament, the preparation was put on hold
for Thursday and Friday. According to Smith the wicket had a lot of grass on it, but added that there would be a little wear and tear on the wicket, due to the match being played on the ground six days before the start of the first Test.
Although Smith has predicted that the wicket would flatten out if the sun keep beating on it, the weather forecast suggests that there will not be much sunshine during the Test match and in the days leading up to it. According to the weather forecast, rain
is predicted on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. The match will start on Thursday, and conditions are expected to be overcast.
The weather forecast will be good news for the South African team. They would not like a dry and flat batting wicket. India on the other hand will be worried about the conditions of the pitch and the weather. The Indian team is not known to play well on
tracks where the conditions are not batting friendly.
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