Pitch Report: Sri Lanka Vs South Africa 1st test, centurion

Sri Lanka could face difficulty when they take on the South Africa in the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on December 15, if statistics are anything to go by.
South Africa has lost one, won 12 and drawn three Tests out of the16 Test matches played at the venue.
Sri Lanka has also lost all three past Test matches in SuperSport Park, Centurion
South Africa won their last Test match at the ground by an inning and 25 runs against India.
The groundsman, Hilbert Smit, said the pitch would help the home team.
"You just have to try and advance the South African strong points without taking it too far. I believe there should be enough grass on, while the surface should be hard.
It's also all about timing. You don't want the pitch to be ready two days before the Test but on the morning of the Test itself," The Sport 24 quoted Smit, as saying.
Smit said he always tries to make the pitch slightly helpful for the bowlers on the first morning of the Test match.
He strives for a pitch that keeps captains of both teams guessing before the toss

When Majola cries

Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Gerald Majola burst out in tears after appearing in front of a commission of inquiry into the organization's bonus scandal.
The Beeld newspaper reports that Majola was in tears when he faced journalists after appearing in Pretoria before the Nicholson Inquiry, chaired by Judge Chris Nicholson.
Majola said the whole ordeal was a "nightmare" for him and his family.
"There have been a lot of misconceptions and unfounded allegations and today (Tuesday) I had the chance to put my side of the story in front of the judge and in front of the public of South Africa," Sports24 quoted him, as saying.
He added: "At least I'm happy now that people will know what the truth is."
"We could have dealt with the matter totally differently, more quickly and better," he told SAPA.
"Whatever has happened was undesirable. It was totally uncalled for and, as cricket administrators, we all have to take the blame for what has happened."
He was questioned at length about the fact that he and Don McIntosh, the Indian Premier League tournament director and former CSA chief operations officer, received more than two-thirds of a pool of money meant for bonuses after the tournament.
"Fairness is relative. Fairness is if I am happy to pay you for the job you have done," Majola said.
He added: "In my view, if the people who authorised these payments thought the people who got this money deserved it, then it was fair."
Majola earlier denied not disclosing his contentious bonus after the IPL series in 2009.
Majola said the CSA board had taken a decision to move forward and to rectify the errors it had made.
He said : "Good governance is key and we will make sure the governance of cricket is clean."
At the end of his oral submission, the inquiry's chairman Judge Chris Nicholson asked Majola if he would have done things differently had he been fully informed of the correct process, and Majola said: "I would have done so and if the new process says I have to disclose to Remco, I will do so."