Bulawayo Athletic Club[1] is a sports club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Bulawayo Athletic Club Ground is a 12,000-capacity stadium.
| Ground information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Bulawayo, Matabeleland, Zimbabwe | ||||
| Coordinates | 20°09′53.41″S 28°35′36.54″E / 20.1648361°S 28.5934833°E | ||||
| Establishment | 1894 | ||||
| Capacity | 12,000 | ||||
| Owner | Bulawayo Athletic Club | ||||
| Tenants | Zimbabwe Cricket | ||||
| End names | |||||
| n/a n/a | |||||
| International information | |||||
| Only Test | 1 November 1992: Zimbabwe v  New Zealand | ||||
| First ODI | 31 October 1992: Zimbabwe v New Zealand | ||||
| Last ODI | 27 June 2023: Ireland v  United Arab Emirates | ||||
| First T20I | 11 July 2022: Jersey v  United States | ||||
| Last T20I | 17 July 2022: Papua New Guinea v United States | ||||
| Team information | |||||
| |||||
| As of 27 June 2023 Source: ESPNcricinfo | |||||
History
The club was founded in 1894 and has been a significant venue for many international sporting events. Cricket is the main sport played at the club, but tennis, bowls, squash and billiards are also played.[2]
On 12 August 2007, a fire broke out at the club, destroying the members' bar area and billiards rooms and causing damages of up to US$400,000. The Walkden Hall, the squash courts and the changing rooms were saved from the blaze. The fire was believed to have been started by an electrical fault.[2]
At the Hockey Africa Cup of Champions held in Bulawayo in 2014, the Bulawayo Athletic Club ladies team reached the competition's final.[3] Two Bulawayo Athletic Club players were in the gold medal winning Zimbabwe ladies hockey team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Patricia McKillop and Helen Volk.[4][5]
As a cricket venue
In the summer of 1992, the Zimbabwe national cricket team was granted Test status. Shortly afterwards, Bulawayo Athletic Club hosted one Test match (becoming the country's second Test venue, after Harare Sports Club) and one One Day International, with New Zealand the visitors in both.[6]
New Zealand won the ODI, on 31 October, by 22 runs. The Test began the following day, but was badly hit by rain and a lack of adequate covering, with ten hours of play lost.[6] In addition, the wicket was poor, as were the attendances (1,000 on the first day and a few hundred each day thereafter). Thus, when international cricket returned to Bulawayo, it was played at the nearby Queens Sports Club.[6]
Bulawayo Athletic Club continued to host domestic matches, and along with Queens Sports Club served as a home ground for the Matabeleland team.[7]
International Centuries
Test Centuries
Only two Test centuries have been scored at the venue.[8]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 119 | Rod Latham | New Zealand | 214 | Zimbabwe | 1 November 1992 | Drawn |
| 2 | 101* | Kevin Arnott | Zimbabwe | 200 | New Zealand | 1 November 1992 | Drawn |
One Day International Centuries
Four One Day International centuries have been scored at the venue.[9]
| No. | Score | Player | Team | Balls | Opposing team | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 157* | Calum MacLeod |  Scotland | 146 |  Afghanistan | 4 March 2018 | Won |
| 2 | 127 | Richie Berrington | Scotland | 136 | United Arab Emirates | 23 June 2023 | Won |
| 3 | 136 | Brandon McMullen | Scotland | 121 |  Oman | 25 June 2023 | Won |
| 4 | 162 | Paul Stirling | Ireland | 134 | United Arab Emirates | 27 June 2023 | Won |
List of Five Wicket Hauls
Tests
Only one Test five wicket haul has been taken at the venue.[10]
| No. | Bowler | Date | Team | Opposing team | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dipak Patel | 1 November 1992 | New Zealand | Zimbabwe | 2 | 40.4 | 113 | 6 | 2.77 | Drawn |
One Day Internationals
Two ODI five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue.[11]
| No. | Bowler | Date | Team | Opposing team | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bilal Khan | 25 June 2023 | Oman | Scotland | 1 | 10 | 55 | 5 | Lost |
| 2 | Chris Greaves | Scotland | Oman | 2 | 10 | 53 | 5 | Won |