Strauss ponders England team balance

13:45, Dec 15 2009

Andrew Strauss took one look at a green and patchy Centurion pitch on Tuesday morning - and conceded England may have to make a late decision on the balance of their first-Test team against South Africa. Storms for much of the past week are perhaps responsible for the unexpected appearance of the surface. But while Strauss and his opposite number Graeme Smith are both anticipating a significant change of hue by start of play, the England captain acknowledged there is some uncertainty about the best formula to start the campaign on a winning note. "I don't know if I'll be more determined to play six batsmen or not," said Strauss. "There's obviously a case if the wicket is going to do a huge amount for playing the extra batsman - that's quite clear - but I'm still not 100% sure how the wicket will play." Strauss is wary of being suckered into planning for a green seamer and discovering too late the pitch is more typical of its usual surroundings after all. "We turned up to one of the one-dayers in the Champions Trophy, and the wicket didn't look very good but ended up playing pretty well," he added. Story continues ADVERTISEMENT England's age-old selection issues here centre on how many specialist batsmen and bowlers to play. But with the complicating factor of unpredictable conditions - much better weather is forecast from Wednesday onwards - the question of whether seam will entirely dominate raises the possibility of an all-pace attack. "Certainly at this stage there looks like there is quite a lot of green grass on it," Strauss agreed. "But we've still got all three options available to use, and I think we'd be quite hesitant to name our side before Wednesday morning - even to our players - because these sorts of wickets can change quite a lot overnight."

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