'They won't be smiling'

If Bangladesh lucked out in Potchefstroom with a dry wicket at Senwes Park, there seems to be no such luck in the offing at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein. That Bangladesh's batsmen scorned that luck and were out playing hasty shots resulting in a horrid 90-all-out denouement only serves to underline the hardships waiting in store for them here.

Nico Pretorius, head groundsman at the Mangaung Oval and a former first-class fast bowler who partnered no less a legend than Allan Anthony Donald for Free State, left Bangladeshi journalists in no doubt about the challenge facing the tourists.

"It will bounce more than Potchefstroom, I can tell you that," said Pretorius yesterday afternoon. "Since it is the first match of the season, it won't be a greentop or as much of a greentop as it will be two months later, but there will be bounce."

To that, a Bangladeshi journalist quipped that Bangladesh batsmen will be smiling if that is the case. "They won't be smiling here," came back the jocular yet mildly threatening retort from the former paceman.

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was not all that happy with the pitch in Potchefstroom, saying that as a home captain he wants more help from the pitch, especially when playing against a team from the subcontinent. According to Pretorius, it really was not the Senwes Park groundstaff's fault as during the start of the season, the grass on the pitch needs some time and moisture. Otherwise, when it is rolled, the grass breaks and dies.

In Bloemfontein, the grass has had a bit more time, and with the rainfall that seemed to arrive along with the Bangladesh team like a bad omen, there is moisture in the air that will keep the pitch from drying up like it did in Potchefstroom, where there was little or no rainfall leading up to the Test. A look at the top five wicket-takers here -- Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Allan Donald -- suggest that the fast men love the Mangaung Oval.

The sixth man on that list is a spinner by the name of Shakib Al Hasan, and his absence from the Bangladesh team is one more reason for Bangladesh fans to be wary.