400 should be a good first innings score: Wanderers groundsman

India’s young side had a torrid time in the one-day series against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and the rest of South Africa’s quicks and there will be more pace and bounce to handle in the first Test in Johannesburg starting today. But perhaps conditions might not be as tough as the hype has made it sound. According to ESPNcricinfo, Wanderers groundsman Chris Scott said he isn’t doing anything specific to target India’s perceived weakness against the short ball when it comes to preparing the pitch. “It does not matter who is touring, I always follow the same formula and try to produce similar pitches to provide a good contest between bat and ball. I am just the stage manager. There’s nothing I can do if the actors forget their words." [caption id=“attachment_1292095” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Getty Images[/caption] Meanwhile Pethuel Buthelezi, a long-time groundsman at the Wanderers told PTI it is still a win-the-toss-and-bat-first kind of wicket. “If the batsmen get set they will like the bounce and 400 runs should be a good first innings’ score," he said That is good news for the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, who said before the tour that he believes bouncy tracks suit his game. In the first ODI, Rohit Sharma took 16 deliveries to get off the mark as he kept playing and missing a series of Dale Steyn outswingers. But he is another batsmen who is comfortable against the short ball and can play the horizontal shots on both sides of the wicket. And he won’t have to face the new ball first up either. The other factor that might give India some solace is their record at the ground since 1992. Admittedly, it is a very small sample – just three games – but India have yet to lose in Johannesburg, having drawn two Tests and won one. They also famously bowled South Africa out for 84 here in 2006. MS Dhoni will no doubt be hoping his team can maintain that record.