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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Gymkhana Club Ground

Nairobi Gymkhana Club is a cricket ground and team in Nairobi, Kenya. It hosted two matches during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The ground has a capacity of 7,000 people. It is located north of the central business district, but not far from it. The ground is the main cricket venue in the country and the only one which could in any way be described as a major ground.

Cricket

The ground is home to a cricket team of the same name, which is one of the oldest cricket clubs in Kenya. Earlier the ground was called Suleman Verjee Indian Gymkhana having been donated by the Suleman Verjee family at a time when no recreational facilities of scale were available to Indians in Kenya. The land was allocated by the Governor of Kenya to the Indian Association in 1927.

The ground is home to one of Kenya's oldest and most influential clubs, the Gymkhana has hosted colonial and other important matches since the early 1900s but it really began to develop as Kenya became a serious force in world cricket in the 1990s.

It has become the main cricket ground in Kenya and hosts International games for the National team. It was at this ground, that Shahid Afridi scored the (then) fastest ODI century in 1997 from just 37 balls.

Investment in the ground accelerated with ICC grants which enabled it to host the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy although since then it has suffered from a lack on investment resulting from Kenya's internal problems. The ground itself is a mixture of grass banking and wooden stands, with a modern pavilion on one side and a new media centre, constructed for the 2000 tournament, at one end.

As with many such clubs in Kenya, the Gymkhana is home to a variety of other sports as well as providing comfortable accommodation. Situated almost 5,500 feet above sea level, it is one of the highest first-class grounds.

Facilities

The Gymkhana club also has an small inside area with a badminton court and further in, an outdoor area with a swimming pool and a restaurant.

Transportation

Nairobi Gymkhana is situated a 20-minute taxi ride and is about 15 km from the airport. Parking near the ground is limited.

List of Centuries

One Day Internationals

No. Score Player Team Balls Inns. Opposing team Date Result
1 100* Romesh Kaluwitharana  Sri Lanka 89 2  Kenya 28 September 1996 Won
2 124 Daryll Cullinan  South Africa 117 1  Pakistan 29 September 1996 Won
3 121 Jonty Rhodes  South Africa 114 1  Pakistan 29 September 1996 Won
4 115 Saeed Anwar  Pakistan 120 1  Sri Lanka 4 October 1996 Won
5 102 Shahid Afridi  Pakistan 40 1  Sri Lanka 4 October 1996 Won
6 122 Aravinda de Silva  Sri Lanka 116 2  Pakistan 4 October 1996 Lost
7 118* Gary Kirsten  South Africa 127 2  Pakistan 6 October 1996 Won
8 122 Dipak Chudasama  Kenya 113 1  Bangladesh 10 October 1997 Won
9 144 Kennedy Otieno  Kenya 146 1  Bangladesh 10 October 1997 Won
10 101* Lance Klusener  South Africa 105 2  Zimbabwe 28 September 1999 Won
11 139 Sourav Ganguly  India 147 1  Zimbabwe 1 October 1999 Won
12 132 Avishka Gunawardene  Sri Lanka 146 1  West Indies 4 October 2000 Won
13 105* Saeed Anwar  Pakistan 134 2  Sri Lanka 8 October 2000 Won
14 104 Saeed Anwar  Pakistan 115 1  New Zealand 11 October 2000 Lost
15 141* Sourav Ganguly  India 142 1  South Africa 13 October 2000 Won
16 117 Sourav Ganguly  India 130 1  New Zealand 15 October 2000 Lost
17 102* Chris Cairns  New Zealand 113 2  India 15 October 2000 Won
18 146 Matthew Hayden  Australia 128 1  Pakistan 30 August 2002 Won
19 116 Jeremy Bray  Ireland 136 1  Scotland 30 January 2007 Lost
20 100 Neil McCallum  Scotland 92 2  Ireland 30 January 2007 Won
21 104 Darron Reekers  Netherlands 82 1  Ireland 5 February 2007 Won
22 111* Thomas Odoyo  Kenya 113 2  Canada 18 October 2007 Won
23 102 Steve Tikolo  Kenya 99 1  Zimbabwe 19 October 2008 Won
24 109* Ryan ten Doeschate  Netherlands 121 1  Kenya 16 February 2010 Lost

List of five-wicket hauls

One Day Internationals

Five-wicket hauls in Men's One Day Internationals at Gymkhana Club Ground
No. Bowler Date Team Opposing Team Inn O R W Result
1 Allan Donald 3 October 1996  South Africa  Kenya 2 9 23 6 South Africa won
2 Waqar Younis 4 October 1996  Pakistan  Sri Lanka 2 8.5 52 5 Pakistan won
3 Aasif Karim 10 October 1997  Kenya  Bangladesh 2 10 33 5 Kenya won
4 Sunil Joshi 26 September 1999  India  South Africa 1 10 6 5 India won
5 Shayne O'Connor 11 October 2000  New Zealand  Pakistan 1 9.2 46 5 New Zealand won
6 Jason Gillespie 30 August 2002  Australia  Pakistan 2 10 22 5 Australia won
7 Jason Gillespie 7 September 2002  Australia  Pakistan 1 10 70 5 No result
8 Collins Obuya 24 February 2003  Kenya  Sri Lanka 2 10 24 5 Kenya won
9 Mashrafe Mortaza 15 August 2006  Bangladesh  Kenya 1 10 26 6 Bangladesh won
10 Chris Mpofu 19 October 2008  Zimbabwe  Kenya 1 10 52 6 Kenya won

Twenty20 Internationals

Five-wicket hauls in Men's Twenty20 Internationals at Gymkhana Club Ground
No. Bowler Date Team Opposing Team Inn O R W Result
1 Nehemiah Odhiambo 4 February 2010  Kenya  Scotland 1 4 20 5 Kenya won
2 Sandeep Lamichhane 29 August 2022    Nepal  Kenya 1 4 9 5 Kenya won