Buthelezi's first international pitch at Wanderers
The Wanderers Stadium's first black head groundsman, Bethuel Buthelezi, has prepared his first international pitch for the third Test of England's tour to South Africa, which kicked off on Thursday.
Buthelezi took over the top job in November 2016 from Chris Scott after a long apprenticeship that included cleaning swimming pools and tennis courts.
According to reports, the 51 year-old Buthelezi was appointed in 1984 at the Wanderes Club before moving over to the ground staff in 1994, where he acted as Scott's assistant.
Buthelezi is only the second black South African to prepare a Test pitch after Wilson Ngobese, the groundsman at Kingsmead in Durban, according to the Daily Mail.
Buthelezi's Wanderers pitch today: Hard with tinge of grass after heatwave. Rain overnight. @alexhales1 has @thecomdog's tummy bug. #SAvENG
— Neal Collins (@nealcol) January 14, 2016Buthelezi has prepared a good pitch that will have a result. #proteas @ThabisoMosia
— Agent Provocateur (@De_Imperial) January 14, 2016
I am happy for tata Bethuel Buthelezi... He will be responsible for the pitch in the 3rd Test match #SAvENG positive stories don't trend
— TheOtherGuy (@theotherguysa) January 13, 2016
The Proteas have to win the Test to square the Series and take it into a deciding test at SuperSport Park the following week.
This is also the first Test captaincy for AB de Villiers after Hashim Amla quit earlier in January. De Villiers said his captaincy style is very competitive.
"“There will be a big focus on winning, lots of energy and I like to lead by example. It makes my job a lot easier when I go out there and do things the way that I want the team to follow. I will try and lead by example; score the runs, throw my body around the field and do the hard yards, I then believe that the team will follow.”
If you can't watch the game, follow it here:
(File photo: Getty Images)