The last time I met with Wanderers groundsman Chris Scott he was insistent that, "the only request I got from Cricket South Africa before the Test here was to produce a pitch with even bounce."

That was the day after Australia completed a 162-run victory over South Africa, but despite the result his phone just kept ringing as plaudits rolled in for what had been a very good pitch. As we sat in his office in the bowels of the Wanderers surrounded by equipment, Scott outlined his philosophy on what he considered a good Test pitch to be, with equality for bowlers at the forefront of his belief system.

Given that nine of the last 10 Tests here have heeded a result - with three days of rain responsible for the only draw - it's clear that he's been able to implement that philosophy, and so it's a little surprising that Mickey Arthur felt the need to approach Scott and request a more lively wicket than usual. It's even more surprising that the meeting has been made so public, although once Arthur had let the info slip to the SA Sunday Times there was no going back.

From a distance the pitch looks no meaner than usual, and Jacques Kallis seemed to confirm that on Tuesday when he said: "I've had a look at the wicket and it's not as green as I've seen before - I've seen greener wickets here so I don't think it's going to be as bad as what people think."

But on Wednesday morning Scott insisted that he has made sure there will be a bit more life than usual, with the weather forecast the main reason behind this thinking.

"It is a little bit more grassy than usual," Scott told me. "I wouldn't say a lot, but there is a bit more juice in it.

"They want consistent bounce, but they also want a result wicket. We need to have a result after five days even if the weather intervenes, and there's a 30 percent chance of rain throughout the Test. If you lose an hour here or an hour there then that could be costly."

Given that Graeme Smith has won just one of his last 11 tosses, it hardly seems like the right thing for South Africa to gamble on although they can look back to Newlands with confidence. There they were inserted in murky conditions - odd for Cape Town at this time of year - and survived a very tricky opening session before going on to dominate the match.

Whoever bats first at the Wanderers always has a fight on their hands in that opening period - Australia slumped to 38 for three after winning the toss and opting to bat last March, and it would have been worse but for Smith dropping Ricky Ponting - but just how tough it will be on Thursday morning will largely depend on overhead conditions. England will remember just how useful Johannesburg conditions can be, having stuck Sri Lanka in during the Champions Trophy before promptly reducing them to 17 for for four.

Wanderers pitches during that tournament were very lively but Scott insists that it was because he needed to keep extra grass to protect them for the long season ahead. With the Indian Premier League final finishing more than a month after the South African season normally ends, he's faced a tricky task over the past year.

After this week's hullabaloo, the real gauge of how seam-friendly this wicket is likely to be will probably be the make-up of the Proteas side. If it really is going to be as crazy a pitch as some are making out, South Africa must surely leave out their spinner Paul Harris, especially after his inability last week to trouble England's batsmen on what is traditionally the country's best spinner's wicket.

If there is extra bounce on offer for the spinners then Harris - given his height - might be more effective, but if South Africa ommit him in favour of an extra seamer then we really can expect the batsmen to be jumping around on the first day.