South Africa captain Faf du Plessis on Friday, said that the wicket for the second Test in Centurion appeared to be bereft of much grass and was “browner” than he had thought it would be.
The hosts had asked for a pitch similar to the one used in Cape Town, where they registered a 72-run win over India.
If du Plessis’ assessment of the wicket turns out to be true, then seamers are likely to miss the lateral movement they were able to get off the pitch at Newlands.
Du Plessis, though, is taking solace from the fact that the wicket still appears to have scope for pace and bounce.
“The wicket looks a bit browner than I thought it would be,” Du Plessis told reporters on Friday,” quoted by Sport24. “From what I got from the groundsman, the grass on the wicket has been burned from the heat last week when it was very hot.
“We’ve asked for pace and bounce, so hopefully we will get that over the next five days.”
Du Plessis, though, was not sure if the wicket will take turn on the last two days of the Test.
“As you can see over there, there is not a lot of green grass. I expect a good cricket wicket and hopefully a bit of pace and bounce,” he said.
“Generally Centurion doesn’t spin that much but there is a thick layer of brown grass on it...For us to get the conditions we would like, the ball must spin as little as possible,” he added.