Mamba for Lanka

There's a green mamba waiting to bite the Sri Lankans at Centurion today.

The snake of a pitch that is sporting a green tinge for the first cricket test has been prepared with South Africa's pace attack very much in mind.

It is designed to have the Sri Lankans on the back foot from ball one of the series, at a venue that has been a veritable fortress for the Proteas who boast a record there as follows: 16 matches played, won 12, drawn 3, lost one.

That single defeat came in the contrived finish against England in January 2000, forever known as Hansie's leather-jacket test.

However, the green hue reflected on the pitch may not have been as a result of the preparation that went into it only, because there has been some rain in Pretoria this week. "The pitch looks pretty green. The groundsman must be in a bit of a panic," said Proteas skipper Graeme Smith.

"I'm sure he hoped for more sunshine."

The condition of the pitch is likely to persuade the selectors to give Titans fast bowler Marchant de Lange a test debut ahead of leg-spinner Imran Tahir.

De Lange, if he makes the cut, will be the fifth fast bowler to be given a test debut this summer after Vernon Philander of South Africa and Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc of Australia. Of course, the pitch will be a green mamba for both sides, as Smith pointed out.

"It's also going to be different for our batsmen," the Proteas skipper said yesterday.

"If we don't give enough application and concentration to the job then we can slip as well. These conditions can turn seamers with a limited record into a seamer with a good record very quickly."

With Sri Lanka having lost five of their frontline seamers leading up to the series, they could be expected to be at a disadvantage, but captain Tillakaratne Dilshan is backing his young bowling attack. "We have a few young fast bowlers who we believe can do the job," he said.

Dilshan said the Sri Lankans would wait until today to inspect the conditions again before deciding on the number of spinners they will include in the team.

He was also taken aback by the green mamba of a pitch.

"The pitch looks very good for fast bowlers," said Dilshan. "I've played here before, but it's very different from what it has been in the past. The fasties will enjoy bowling here." The Sri Lankans bring a poor run of form into the test, having gone without a win for over a year. Their last win was against India in July 2010.

TEST TEAMS

SOUTH AFRICA (from): Graeme Smith (captain), AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, Marchant de Lange, Imran Tahir, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Vernon Philander, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph, Dale Steyn

SRI LANKA (from): Tillakaratne Dilshan (captain), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ajantha Mendis, Tharanga Paranavitana, Thisara Perera, Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara, Kaushal Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, Chanaka Welegedara

UMPIRES: Steve Davis (Aus), Rod Tucker (Aus)

START: 10.30am