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]
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]
