South Africa wants bouncy, non-turning track for Centurion Test - Curator Supersport Park
South Africa team management has asked the curator at Supersport Park, Centurion to prepare a grassy track for the first Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 to have a bit of bounce.
The grounds man of the venue Hilbert Smith told the media on Saturday that he is preparing the track according to the instructions he has received but much would depend on the weather conditions in the coming few days.
"I've been told to leave some grass on it, so there will be bounce. I've rolled some grass into the base for that," said Smith. "It will have just a bit of bounce. But everything depends on the weather. If it stays hot, somewhere in the
region of 34 degrees Celsius and the pitch dries out, then it will flatten out totally and then we will have a problem because we need some moisture to get bounce," he said.
Smith, however, declined preparation of track with green-top as he fears that too much bounce might lead to an early end of the match.
"If I leave too much grass on the pitch, there will be too much movement and then the match could be over in three days and we don't want that. If it ends in four days, that will be fine, but ideally, I would like it to go the full five
days," Smith said.
The curator has also been told not to prepare a turning track for the opening Test match. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 spinner, however, said that bounce alone can also help the spinners, particularly those with good height like Harbhajan
Singh of India and Paul Harris from the home side.
The SuperSport Park grounds man told the media reporters that the Test pitch is almost ready, the only work remaining is because of the final match of domestic MTN40 competition which was hosted by the same venue on Friday, 10th
of December and has caused a bit of wear and tear on the Test pitch according to Smith.
Weather, according to the curator, would play a key role in how the pitch turns out on the morning of the Test. Although, it is usually 30 degree Celsius in Centurion these days but it has been raining for the last three days.
First batch of the Indian team has reached South Africa for pre-tour practice at their coach Gary Kirsten’s academy while the stand-in captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623 and few others will join them on this Sunday. The Men in Blue are scheduled to
play three Tests, five One Day Internationals and a solitary T20 during the six-week long tour of South Africa.
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