Kingsmead pitch will be bowler-friendly

When this correspondent saw the Kingsmead wicket yesterday afternoon, he was surprised to see black grass.

Proctor went on to explain the oddity: "It was raining for the last two or three days. There was ankle deep-water. The grass is black because of theu00a0 wet conditions and the covering."

He assured that the grass would be shaved off, but ruled out a bald track. "We have let the grass grow because it can bind the soil in these conditions. A lot of it will be off soon but not entirely," said Proctor.

He also ruled out an out-an-out bowler's paradise. "We want the Test to last five days though. We don't want to lose out on ticket sales."

India have played three Tests at Kingsmead. Praveen Amre is the only Indian batsman to score a hundred here (he did so on Test debut while playing under Mohammed Azharuddin in 1992-93). The Test was drawn, but India lost the 2006-07 game after positing a win in the earlier Test at Johannesburg.

S Sreesanth will have fond, personal memories of this Test as he claimed eight wickets in the game. India need him to do a repeat performance now, more than ever.

Staying away from Sun City
The Indian team is taking a break in Sun City and will arrive in Durban only tomorrow. It is learnt that not all members headed to the famous holiday destination. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh decided to stay put in Johannesburg.

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