Bulawayo Athletic Club

Cricket ground

20°09′53.41″S 28°35′36.54″E / 20.1648361°S 28.5934833°E / -20.1648361; 28.5934833Establishment1894Capacity12,000OwnerBulawayo Athletic ClubTenantsZimbabwe CricketEnd namesn/a
n/aInternational informationOnly Test1 November 1992:
 Zimbabwe v  New ZealandFirst ODI31 October 1992:
 Zimbabwe v  New ZealandLast ODI27 June 2023:
 Ireland v  United Arab EmiratesFirst T20I11 July 2022:
 Jersey v  United StatesLast T20I17 July 2022:
 Papua New Guinea v  United StatesTeam information
Rhodesia (1951)
Matabeleland (1994-2009)
As of 27 June 2023
Source: ESPNcricinfo

Bulawayo Athletic Club[1] is a sports club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Bulawayo Athletic Club Ground is a 12,000-capacity stadium.

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

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bulawayo Athletic Club". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Bulawayo Athletic Club The Club House at BAC was burnt to the ground on 12th August 2007". Bulawayo Athletic Club. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  3. ^ "BAC successful despite final heartbreak". Southern Eye. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Helen Volk". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Patricia McKillop". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Bulawayo Athletic Club". espn.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Bulawayo Athletic Club". BigBashBoard.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Batting Records/ Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Batting Records/ One Day International". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Statistics - Statsguru - Test Matches - Bowling Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Bowling Best Figures Innings". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

External links

  • brmtaylor.com Club Players
  • ESPNcricinfo page on Bulawayo Athletic Club
  • CricketArchive page on Bulawayo Athletic Club
  • Zimbabwe Cricket