A pitch of a problem for South Africa

South Africa's groundsman would be forgiven for going about their business in hard hats and bulletproof vests ahead of the Castle Lager Test series against the West Indies.

This summer they have, after all, loomed as irresistible targets. If it isn't Graeme Smith taking a clumsy potshot at the men with muddied hands, as he did after his team won the first Test against New Zealand in Johannesburg, then it's a slew of commentators wondering out loud why some of the totals in Supersport Series matches have been unusually low.

The Cape Cobras and the Dolphins have felt both edges of this sword. The Cobras were dismissed for 82 by the Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg, and two weeks later in Cape Town the Cobras bowled the Dolphins out for 63.

"Of the strips we've played on, only Kingsmead and the one at Potch were good surfaces," Dolphins stalwart Doug Watson said. "The others were up and down, slow or encouraged seam movement."

Stop the world: pitches that assist bowlers! Can't have that! Might not batsmen be to blame at least some of the time?

South African coach Mickey Arthur, at least, has not made up his mind. "The scores in the Supersport Series have been pretty average of late, but how much of that comes down to wickets I'm not sure," Arthur said.

"Some of the guys I've spoken to have said the wickets have been OK and some of them have said the wickets have been too sporting."

Arthur, of course, wanted surfaces that accurately reflected individual performances.

"We've got to reach a situation where bowlers are bowling on good decks, so they have to hit good areas all the time," he said.

"Young batsmen should be batting on good wickets with consistent bounce so they can play with confidence.

"We need young guys to be pushing the incumbents in the national side. We need them to be scoring big runs and taking wickets, but taking wickets in such a way that they are also building pressure."

If all this sounds a touch melodramatic - let's not forget that we are discussing a slab of rolled mud - consider that one of South Africa's most senior and respected groundsmen who has earned plenty of praise over the years was happy to talk to us as long as he could do so anonymously.

"As groundsmen we don't know what the South African team wants because there isn't any communication," he said.

"There was a groundsmen's association meeting towards the end of last season, and since then I haven't spoken to or seen anybody from Cricket South Africa. It feels a bit like isolation back in the 80s!"

What of Smith's outburst after the Wanderers Test?

"I think he should have the right to talk about this sort of issue without being reprimanded or fined.

"One of my suggestions to try and help the situation would be to get as much player input as we can."

He was concerned that other countries were making advances in the science of pitch preparation while South Africa remained rooted in outdated traditions and methods.

"I've been doing this for years and we are still using the same old recipe," he said.

"We are too afraid to change and to do research, unlike in places like England and Australia.

West Indian pitches aren't exactly shining examples of the groundsman's craft.

In Trinidad they often fall victim to inconsistent bounce, while in Guyana they invariably crumble.

They can be fast and lively in Barbados, but that is the exception.

So don't expect to hear their captain, Chris Gayle, do too much moaning about the surfaces his team encounter on tour.

Nevermind, there will doubtless be plenty of South Africans lining up to do his share.