Buffalo Park, East London

A small ground with plentiful grass embankments, East London's Buffalo Park, boasts a beautiful view with the ocean in the background. The floodlights in Buffalo Park are excellent and the ground mainly hosts limited over matches. It is the smallest cricket ground in South Africa but has one of the best facilities. Home to the Border Bears, it first tasted international cricket in December 1992 when India defeated South Africa in the seventh and final one-day international of their series. Since that time it has been regularly used for ODIs. There have been some special moments in limited overs games that Buffalo Park has hosted. In December 1994, Pakistani paceman Waqar Younis claimed a hat-trick against New Zealand. The ground hosted its first Test in October 2002 when South Africa thrashed Bangladesh by an innings and 107 runs as Graeme Smith hit 200 and Gary Kirsten 150. During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Buffalo Park hosted the Super Sixes contest, as well as the match between South Africa and Canada. The Buffalo Park is also known as Mercedes-Benz Park, courtesy of sponsorship from the German motor manufacturer. While it is traditionally nicknamed "The Buffs", it is humorously called "The Carpark" by the new sponsor.