de Villiers anticipates bowler-friendly pitches

AB de Villiers has predicted a tough time for batsmen from both sides in the Test series that begins in Johannesburg on Thursday, with plenty of swing expected to give the fast bowlers a boost. That could mean an advantage for South Africa, who boast one of the world's strongest pace attacks, while Australia will field a vastly inexperienced group led by Mitchell Johnson.

"There'll be a bit more swing over here in South Africa," de Villiers said on Tuesday. "It will definitely favour the bowlers a bit more than what we saw in Australia. There wasn't a lot of swing there. So Dale Steyn and the boys are going to have a good advantage I think but they've also got a good bowling attack."

Despite the Wanderers' reputation as a pace-friendly venue, South Africa are planning to play left-arm spinner Paul Harris and a three-man fast-bowling unit. Australia have not decided whether to include a specialist slow bowler - Bryce McGain and Nathan Hauritz are both in the squad - but de Villiers expected there would be some turn later in the match.

"The Wanderers is always a good Test wicket," he said. "It will definitely move around the first day, the first two days even. I'm sure that it will get a bit more pace day three and four and maybe a bit of turn day four going into day five."

de Villiers will be lining up for his 50th consecutive Test match since his debut and he said he was keen to take a more senior role in the batting line-up. He is eyeing the No. 4 position that was occupied by Jacques Kallis during the series in Australia, although coach Mickey Arthur said on Monday Kallis was not in danger of losing his place.

"I'm definitely not a youngster any more," de Villiers said. "Definitely more responsibility on my shoulders with the bat. I think I'm in pretty good form at the moment. I've gone through some patches before and I've learnt from the mistakes. I think it's going much better now. I really enjoy taking more responsibility at the wicket, batting under pressure and pushing myself to new limits."

The South African squad got together on Saturday to start preparing for the three-Test series, which will hand them the No. 1 Test ranking if they win. The players have enjoyed a break since returning home from Australia but unlike his crocodile-wrestling team-mate Dale Steyn, the time off has not been all fun and games for de Villiers.

"I had my wisdom teeth taken out so that was pretty painful," he said. "I was at home for about ten days, under mum's wing, so pretty happy and refreshed and energised for what is ahead."

The players will need to be refreshed and in the right frame of mind. Unlike during the series in Australia, the South Africans are the favourites and de Villiers said they would need to ensure they remained focused on the game rather than the hype surrounding the series.

"We've got all the momentum behind us now and we've got a bit of pressure, all the expectations of the public," de Villiers said. "We're just going to have to go out there and do the basics right on Thursday and play the cricket we know we can play."