Teams:
South Africa squad for first Test: Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Mark Boucher (wk), Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Ryan McLaren, Paul Harris, Hashim Amla, Alviro Petersen
South Africa squad for first Test: Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Mark Boucher (wk), Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Ryan McLaren, Paul Harris, Hashim Amla, Alviro Petersen
Tour Fixtures and schedules:
1st Test: South Africa v India at Centurion, SuperSport Park
Dec 16-20, 2010 (10:30 local | 08:30 GMT | 14:00 IST)
2nd Test: South Africa v India at Durban, Kingsmead
Dec 26-30, 2010 (10:00 local | 08:00 GMT | 13:30 IST)
3rd Test: South Africa v India at Cape Town, Newlands
Jan 2-6, 2011 (10:30 local | 08:30 GMT | 14:00 IST)
Only T20I: South Africa v India at Durban, Moses Mabhida
Jan 9, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
1st ODI: South Africa v India at Durban, Kingsmead
Jan 12, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
2nd ODI - South Africa v India at Johannesburg, New Wanderers Stadium
Jan 15, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
3rd ODI - South Africa v India at Cape Town, Newlands
Jan 18, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
4th ODI - South Africa v India at Port Elizabeth, St George's Park
Jan 21, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
5th ODI - South Africa v India at Centurion, SuperSport Park
Jan 23, 2011 (10:00 local | 08:00 GMT | 13:30 IST)
1st Test: South Africa v India at Centurion, SuperSport Park
Dec 16-20, 2010 (10:30 local | 08:30 GMT | 14:00 IST)
2nd Test: South Africa v India at Durban, Kingsmead
Dec 26-30, 2010 (10:00 local | 08:00 GMT | 13:30 IST)
3rd Test: South Africa v India at Cape Town, Newlands
Jan 2-6, 2011 (10:30 local | 08:30 GMT | 14:00 IST)
Only T20I: South Africa v India at Durban, Moses Mabhida
Jan 9, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
1st ODI: South Africa v India at Durban, Kingsmead
Jan 12, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
2nd ODI - South Africa v India at Johannesburg, New Wanderers Stadium
Jan 15, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
3rd ODI - South Africa v India at Cape Town, Newlands
Jan 18, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
4th ODI - South Africa v India at Port Elizabeth, St George's Park
Jan 21, 2011 (14:30 local | 12:30 GMT | 18:00 IST)
5th ODI - South Africa v India at Centurion, SuperSport Park
Jan 23, 2011 (10:00 local | 08:00 GMT | 13:30 IST)
Pitch report and some key points:
The Centurion pitch for the first Test between South Africa and India starting on December 16 will not be a trampoline, subject to the weather, the groundsman at Supersport Park, Hilbert Smit, has said. "It will have just a bit of bounce," Smit told media persons."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," Smit said.South Africa have instructed Smit to prepare a track that will favour their pace attack. "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," Smit said. He has to ensure a delicate balance between producing a pitch that will generate bounce and one that doesn't offer too much movement and the possibility of the match ending prematurely. "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."Smit has also been told to leave no room for turn, all but negating the role of the spinner, who will, particularly in the case of someone like Paul Harris, be used to contain. However, bounce alone may be enough to excite the slow bowlers, particularly tall ones like Harris and Harbhajan Singh, according to former South African spinner Paul Adams. "Spinners just need the bounce to be able to deceive the batsmen," he said.Smit said he has "done most of the Test pitch already" and, on Friday during the MTN40 final, it had quite a fair amount of grass on it, but he has had an interruption in his preparation. The domestic limited-overs final was played six days before the first Test. It meant that Smit could not work on the Test pitch for two days, Thursday and Friday.The Test pitch, number five on the square, is sandwiched between the MTN40 final pitch, number six, and the pitch used for the other MTN40 games, number four. "There will be a little bit of wear and tear on the Test pitch and the grass may come out a bit because of its position," Smit said. It's the first time Smit has had a domestic game played so soon before an international, and therefore he said he doesn't know what the effect will be on the Test pitch.Luckily, the weather is expected to work to Smit's advantage. Although the mercury has topped 30 degrees Celsius for the past few days, it has rained on three of them. Rain is forecast all day for Sunday and Monday while clearing on Tuesday and returning on Wednesday night. Thursday, the first day of the Test, is also expected to be overcast and wet.South Africa have left out offspinner Johan Botha, left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell and batsman JP Duminy from their line-up for the first Test against India in Centurion that begins on December 16. The three players, who were part of the original 15-man squad, have been released by CSA to represent their respective domestic teams in the latest round of the Supersport series that begins on Thursday. Parnell and Botha will play for the Warriors, and Duminy for the Cobras.The decision means Ryan McLaren and Lonwabo Tsotsobe are the candidates for the third seamer's slot, while Paul Harris, should South Africa opt for spin, is a certainty in the playing XI. Duminy's exclusion ensures Ashwell Prince will keep the No.6 slot.Meanwhile, South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said he is recovering well from a fractured ring finger on his left hand - an injury he suffered during the second Test against Pakistan in the UAE. He had his first net session on Monday, though he mostly faced up to slow bowlers. "I was very pleased with the way it went," he said. "I am following the same processes I have always followed when coming back from injury. I will step up my batting schedule over the next two days."
The Centurion pitch for the first Test between South Africa and India starting on December 16 will not be a trampoline, subject to the weather, the groundsman at Supersport Park, Hilbert Smit, has said. "It will have just a bit of bounce," Smit told media persons."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," Smit said.South Africa have instructed Smit to prepare a track that will favour their pace attack. "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," Smit said. He has to ensure a delicate balance between producing a pitch that will generate bounce and one that doesn't offer too much movement and the possibility of the match ending prematurely. "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."Smit has also been told to leave no room for turn, all but negating the role of the spinner, who will, particularly in the case of someone like Paul Harris, be used to contain. However, bounce alone may be enough to excite the slow bowlers, particularly tall ones like Harris and Harbhajan Singh, according to former South African spinner Paul Adams. "Spinners just need the bounce to be able to deceive the batsmen," he said.Smit said he has "done most of the Test pitch already" and, on Friday during the MTN40 final, it had quite a fair amount of grass on it, but he has had an interruption in his preparation. The domestic limited-overs final was played six days before the first Test. It meant that Smit could not work on the Test pitch for two days, Thursday and Friday.The Test pitch, number five on the square, is sandwiched between the MTN40 final pitch, number six, and the pitch used for the other MTN40 games, number four. "There will be a little bit of wear and tear on the Test pitch and the grass may come out a bit because of its position," Smit said. It's the first time Smit has had a domestic game played so soon before an international, and therefore he said he doesn't know what the effect will be on the Test pitch.Luckily, the weather is expected to work to Smit's advantage. Although the mercury has topped 30 degrees Celsius for the past few days, it has rained on three of them. Rain is forecast all day for Sunday and Monday while clearing on Tuesday and returning on Wednesday night. Thursday, the first day of the Test, is also expected to be overcast and wet.South Africa have left out offspinner Johan Botha, left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell and batsman JP Duminy from their line-up for the first Test against India in Centurion that begins on December 16. The three players, who were part of the original 15-man squad, have been released by CSA to represent their respective domestic teams in the latest round of the Supersport series that begins on Thursday. Parnell and Botha will play for the Warriors, and Duminy for the Cobras.The decision means Ryan McLaren and Lonwabo Tsotsobe are the candidates for the third seamer's slot, while Paul Harris, should South Africa opt for spin, is a certainty in the playing XI. Duminy's exclusion ensures Ashwell Prince will keep the No.6 slot.Meanwhile, South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said he is recovering well from a fractured ring finger on his left hand - an injury he suffered during the second Test against Pakistan in the UAE. He had his first net session on Monday, though he mostly faced up to slow bowlers. "I was very pleased with the way it went," he said. "I am following the same processes I have always followed when coming back from injury. I will step up my batting schedule over the next two days."
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