Following on from another thread, I thought it might be useful/interesting to compile a list of grounds in Zim and current condition. We can use this to update on anything we hear about grounds and any updates, info and rumours in the future as well.
I'm NOT including school grounds here. Will do those separately some time later.
Bold = still active for cricket.
Italics = Ground still physically there but abandoned, disused, or used for things other than cricket.
Harare:
Harare Sports Club - still world class
Old Hararians - in a bit of a state but still alright
Takashinga Cricket Club - still a dump
Old Georgians - still nice
Alex Sports Club - not great, think its only used for junior games now.
Sunrise Sports Club - Pitch in pretty poor condition but they still play boozers league on it regularly
AFZ/Manyame Ground - Is the air force ground still in use?
Universals Sports Club - Ground now used as a soccer pitch :( Old indoor nets are now a wedding venue.
Country Club - Terribly sad. Now in the hands of Bvute and the beautiful cricket field is disused.
Zimbank Sports Club - Soccer pitches now. Occasional U13 cricket but not really any proper cricket for years.
South Country Club - Totally abandoned and very overgrown.
Non-Harare:
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo -
Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo -
Emakhandeni Cricket Ground, Bulawayo -
MacDonald Club ('ZYC Academy of Excellence'), Bulawayo - Streak's place
Kwekwe Sports Club, Kwekwe - Love this place, still looking good as of August 2021
Kwekwe Queens Sports Club, Kwekwe - I think its basically just a nightclub now. Not sure if the cricket pitch is used at all - does anyone know? Had some amazing nights here in my youth, wild place back in the day!
Mbizo Cricket Ground, Kwekwe - Still used for cricket daily but its a dump. In horrendous condition.
Mutare Sports Club, Mutare -
Masvingo Sports Club, Masvingo -
Kadoma Sports Club, Kadoma -
Bindura Sports Club, Bindura - recently refurbished clubhouse. Chigumbura's academy is currently running a kids programme there.
Triangle Country Club, Triangle Estate - cricket pitch still looked maintained on my last visit November 2019.
Gweru Sports Club, Gweru - Cricket field was long abandoned but they are currently renovating it! :D
Hwange Cricket Club, Hwange - Burnt down around 2010. Clubhouse has reopened but don't think any cricket happens there now.
Hippo Valley Country Club - Still a lovely club but no cricket played there for a very long time.
Zisco Club, Redcliffe - Abandoned like everything else in the town. Pretty sure the only people that live there now are Chinese workers lol.
Chegutu Country Club - I think its abandoned? Not sure
Wedza Country Club, Wedza - Completely abandoned for the last 10-15 years. The local Zanu PF branch appears to now be using the clubhouse as an office.
Makoni Country Club, Rusape - Curran would be turning in his grave. Derelict since 2008-ish. The council are now in the process of reopening soccer and tennis courts there but probably no cricket
What have I missed? I'm sure I've forgotten some old abandoned clubs. Please let me know and I'll add them. Anything that has been built on or is untraceable won't be included. But grounds where the land still physically exists and is vacant will be included. As these are places that in some mystical fantasyland someone with a few thousand dollars could feasibly lay a wicket, cut the grass and play a social game of cricket on again.
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Zim Cricket Grounds - Info & Updates
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Where does the Alistair Campbell HPC play, HOWSAT cricket academy? They have some good indoor nets.
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It's bloody tragic. So in Harare we have HSC, OH (not great) and Takashinga (not great) . OG's is not part of the mix because ZC won't allow them to play.
Basically in a capital city of 3 plus million people there are three club grounds and two of them are s**t, despite the hundreds of thousands donated by ICC to get them up to speed for the qualifiers. If you want a career ending injury dive onto the multitude of concrete white ants' nests at OH as well.
If they could get away with Takashinga 1 playing Takashinga 2 once a year in a T10 with one umpire and from that game select a national side for the three formats they'd try and figure out how to make it a T5 and then hope to win a few games against Australia, England, India and NZ rent free at HSC.
We've taken a giant step closer to the s**t pile they've been aspiring to this year. Absolutely shameless. As I said earlier, it has to be planned, nobody can be naturally this useless, its not humanly possible. Explain to me how ICC justify giving us one cent?
And there are still people hoping to be given millions to erect a stadium in Vic Falls 😂 which was probably going to be next to the Formula 1 track 😂 One game of cricket in 45 degrees at 80% humidity would kill off half our remaining 20 players. I see a day when admin will be sharing the last remaining Range Rover and wearing one long pointy black shoe ea to signify their status.
There was also Zimbank in Vainona and Standard Bank in Marlborough which used to work some years ago.
There was also the Police Grounds where Rhodesia used to play the Currie Cups, that was an incredible place. Burned in my brain is Proctor charging in from the sidescreen.
Basically in a capital city of 3 plus million people there are three club grounds and two of them are s**t, despite the hundreds of thousands donated by ICC to get them up to speed for the qualifiers. If you want a career ending injury dive onto the multitude of concrete white ants' nests at OH as well.
If they could get away with Takashinga 1 playing Takashinga 2 once a year in a T10 with one umpire and from that game select a national side for the three formats they'd try and figure out how to make it a T5 and then hope to win a few games against Australia, England, India and NZ rent free at HSC.
We've taken a giant step closer to the s**t pile they've been aspiring to this year. Absolutely shameless. As I said earlier, it has to be planned, nobody can be naturally this useless, its not humanly possible. Explain to me how ICC justify giving us one cent?
And there are still people hoping to be given millions to erect a stadium in Vic Falls 😂 which was probably going to be next to the Formula 1 track 😂 One game of cricket in 45 degrees at 80% humidity would kill off half our remaining 20 players. I see a day when admin will be sharing the last remaining Range Rover and wearing one long pointy black shoe ea to signify their status.
There was also Zimbank in Vainona and Standard Bank in Marlborough which used to work some years ago.
There was also the Police Grounds where Rhodesia used to play the Currie Cups, that was an incredible place. Burned in my brain is Proctor charging in from the sidescreen.
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zimfan1 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:25 pm
Where does the Alistair Campbell HPC play, HOWSAT cricket academy? They have some good indoor nets.
No idea if Howsat is still going. I think Campbell's lot are nomadic, don't think they have a base as such?
Does Takashinga still have half a sinkhole in the middle of the square? 😂 Honestly considering how much Makoni has looted over the years I'm surprised he hasn't invested more of it in making Taka half decent by now.
Also what is Marillier up to? He's said to be on manoeuvres. Is he linked to Wingate? Something is happening there regarding some cricket nets being put up on. I imagine it must be him or Campbell or some other wannabe academy.
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Ya I believe that dip is still there. Lethal. It would take 10 minutes to sort out as well. Stays one ft off the ground if u hit the downslope and will take your head off if it hits the upslope. It's the Zimbabwe equivalent of having an oak tree in the outfield.
Campbell's crew use the nets at OG's and I think the main square as well.
I'm very curious about Wingate, some work has gone into that and it still looks a bit ropey. I would think it's tied in with the AC Academy somehow? Wingate has lots of water, so all things are possible.
Campbell's crew use the nets at OG's and I think the main square as well.
I'm very curious about Wingate, some work has gone into that and it still looks a bit ropey. I would think it's tied in with the AC Academy somehow? Wingate has lots of water, so all things are possible.
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I don't know the latest with the AC academy either. Last year they had some ZC guys there paying local cheap rates that kept the wheels turning. Whether that happens again I'm not sure, but I have my doubts. ZC have been wanting to do the same for years but it requires a very basic understanding of cricket enthusiasm, coaching and planning which doesn't exist within most of their ranks.
There are a couple of decent youngsters there, so it has gained a bit of traction amongst the school kids.
Brown, Higgins and a couple of others have long since given up private coaching because there just aren't the numbers so AC Acadamy is pretty much the only game in town, unless you hire the private school coach for $10 to make sure your little Johnny is the captain when he should be the scorer.
There are a couple of decent youngsters there, so it has gained a bit of traction amongst the school kids.
Brown, Higgins and a couple of others have long since given up private coaching because there just aren't the numbers so AC Acadamy is pretty much the only game in town, unless you hire the private school coach for $10 to make sure your little Johnny is the captain when he should be the scorer.
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The original plan was to have a winter academy for the Northern hemisphere guys and the carrot was FC cricket as the 5th franchise from what I recall. It was a grand idea, but without being in total control and not benefiting financially it was vetoed by the pointy shoe brigade.
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Here's a guess- maybe something is going on at OG's at the indoor that doesn't suit AC and/or GB and an alternative is being set up.
That OG's set up is owned by that olympian decathlete and maybe rent is now an issue? I don't know, just thinking out loud, seems doubtful, but you never know. Being the only indoor facility you'd think ZC would have some bookings there. It's all such a mess I don't pay much attention anymore.
They have womens cricket, NPL, Club cricket (2 divisions) and franchise cricket and only three grounds in Harare, never mind the different formats.
That OG's set up is owned by that olympian decathlete and maybe rent is now an issue? I don't know, just thinking out loud, seems doubtful, but you never know. Being the only indoor facility you'd think ZC would have some bookings there. It's all such a mess I don't pay much attention anymore.
They have womens cricket, NPL, Club cricket (2 divisions) and franchise cricket and only three grounds in Harare, never mind the different formats.
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It's madness really - let OG play half a dozen matches in the Vigne Cup each year which no one really pays attention to anyway, and then ZC would have instantly better relations with them and probably much easier and/or cheaper access to their nets and ground. It seems a pretty simple way to get another ground available. ZC need to get over themselves. A strong OG team competing with Takashinga for the title would be great and might go someway to reigniting old rivalries and the fierceness of club cricket we used to see as well lol.
I know this has been discussed to death and tbf the HMCA did attempt it years ago, but every club needs its own ground. Thats the way to boost facilities long-term. If you want to play, you need a pitch. Your own pitch. All your home games will be played there. No pitch? No play. It would be very painful at first for the first few years but it would recover and people would soon find land or old grounds and tart them up a bit. In an ideal world there would be ZC or government grants 😂 Wouldn't have to be anything fancy at all. While we are at it can we link junior cricket and development to these clubs and grounds as well? I'm not really sure what any of these celebrity academies really achieve, AC's included. They are just attempts to make money or buy influence in ZC.
Strong clubs with facilities of their own, junior programmes and strong adult teams that juniors aspire to represent. We can dream, hey?
I know this has been discussed to death and tbf the HMCA did attempt it years ago, but every club needs its own ground. Thats the way to boost facilities long-term. If you want to play, you need a pitch. Your own pitch. All your home games will be played there. No pitch? No play. It would be very painful at first for the first few years but it would recover and people would soon find land or old grounds and tart them up a bit. In an ideal world there would be ZC or government grants 😂 Wouldn't have to be anything fancy at all. While we are at it can we link junior cricket and development to these clubs and grounds as well? I'm not really sure what any of these celebrity academies really achieve, AC's included. They are just attempts to make money or buy influence in ZC.
Strong clubs with facilities of their own, junior programmes and strong adult teams that juniors aspire to represent. We can dream, hey?
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Whilst this appears terribly sad on first read it's important for the non Zimbabwean to note that cricket and sport In Zimbabwe has focused on the school level more than most countries. There are some good grounds at that level. And tournaments that other countries don't have for their kids.
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I have noticed over the years alot of focus on what school players went too when talking about Zimbabwe.
No one gives a f**k what high school i went too or any of the aussie players for example.
my school cricket was a 30 over match every thursday afternoon against other catholic schools in the network. 10 games a year?
No one would associate your school with youth development in any way. That would all come via your weekend club level.
for example, if you were a good under 14s player for Bondi north cricket club, you might try out for the eastern suburbs rep team to play sundays.
In fact, some of the best cricketers never played for their school team because of cricket overload.
No one gives a f**k what high school i went too or any of the aussie players for example.
my school cricket was a 30 over match every thursday afternoon against other catholic schools in the network. 10 games a year?
No one would associate your school with youth development in any way. That would all come via your weekend club level.
for example, if you were a good under 14s player for Bondi north cricket club, you might try out for the eastern suburbs rep team to play sundays.
In fact, some of the best cricketers never played for their school team because of cricket overload.
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Zimco wrote: ↑Wed Oct 13, 2021 4:14 am
Whilst this appears terribly sad on first read it's important for the non Zimbabwean to note that cricket and sport In Zimbabwe has focused on the school level more than most countries. There are some good grounds at that level. And tournaments that other countries don't have for their kids.
I was going to try and do school grounds separately but theres just too many, and info on many is impossible to get. There's still a handful of very good grounds, and another handful of okay grounds that are still used. Again though there are many dozens that are abandoned or disused at schools too.
ZIMDOGGY wrote: ↑Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:21 am
I have noticed over the years alot of focus on what school players went too when talking about Zimbabwe.
No one gives a f**k what high school i went too or any of the aussie players for example.
my school cricket was a 30 over match every thursday afternoon against other catholic schools in the network. 10 games a year?
No one would associate your school with youth development in any way. That would all come via your weekend club level.
for example, if you were a good under 14s player for Bondi north cricket club, you might try out for the eastern suburbs rep team to play sundays.
In fact, some of the best cricketers never played for their school team because of cricket overload.
Probably partially because of the wider value placed on education here generally. Schools are important in everything, not just cricket, and if you go to a top private or elite gov school (as all the cricket playing schools are) then people are exceptionally proud of it. One of the few reasons Zimbabwe has continued to somehow survive and exist in any form really through the past twenty years is because of our historically excellent education and still-pretty-good education compared to the rest of Africa. People are very attached to and proud of (good) schools. Whereas from my experience in the UK no one really gives a f**k there, unless you go to the top 0.0000001% of schools maybe.
But, I touched upon this in a previous post on this thread - I really wish kids played junior club cricket here. Kids cricket outside of schools doesn't really exist here other than the Bakers Inn stuff in Harare, and they aren't 'clubs' anyway.
Top clubs - I'm looking at Takashinga here - should have U12, U14, U16, U19 teams and training groups competing regularly against the other top clubs.
The fact that development is left to a small handful of random schools and a few overpriced money-spinning 'academies' is pretty s**t.
If every club had their own ground then that would help - they'd have the facilities, they'd have the community feel and some level of loyalty and attachment. A 13 year old kid would be playing for Taka U14's and be dreaming of playing for the first team one day.
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Can anyone familiar with Bulawayo help identifying these old cricket ovals?
Ground 1 - At Fairbridge/Cecil. & Ground 2 - Off First at the bottom of Townsend Road
Ground 1 - At Fairbridge/Cecil. & Ground 2 - Off First at the bottom of Townsend Road
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secretzimbo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:01 pm
Can anyone familiar with Bulawayo help identifying these old cricket ovals?
Ground 1 - At Fairbridge/Cecil. & Ground 2 - Off First at the bottom of Townsend Road
The ground by Smokehouse looked fairly well maintained when I was there last time. Didn't even notice it was for cricket but the area is managed pretty well. Dont know if they call it by another name in Bulawayo. I think they even host some events on it now too
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secretzimbo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:01 pm
Can anyone familiar with Bulawayo help identifying these old cricket ovals?
Ground 1 - At Fairbridge/Cecil. & Ground 2 - Off First at the bottom of Townsend Road
I have an idea that was Old Techs.
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^ TapsC2: Ahh thanks. Yeah I've heard of Busters as a top rugby club and an apparent good place for a drink or ten but I've never been there or heard of them playing cricket?
Found this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3fmWoO ... ernational
Looks like its mainly used for soccer and rugby, but the cricket pitch is still there and I think thats a white sightscreen I can see! I wonder when cricket was last played there?
Edit: https://www.facebook.com/Bulawayo-Cente ... 243986332/ - its this place of course!!! Forgot this centre existed. Don't think it's still going though sadly.
Found this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3fmWoO ... ernational
Looks like its mainly used for soccer and rugby, but the cricket pitch is still there and I think thats a white sightscreen I can see! I wonder when cricket was last played there?
Edit: https://www.facebook.com/Bulawayo-Cente ... 243986332/ - its this place of course!!! Forgot this centre existed. Don't think it's still going though sadly.
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jward wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:06 pm
secretzimbo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:01 pm
Can anyone familiar with Bulawayo help identifying these old cricket ovals?
Ground 1 - At Fairbridge/Cecil. & Ground 2 - Off First at the bottom of Townsend Road
I have an idea that was Old Techs.
Old Techs?
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secretzimbo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:29 pm
jward wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:06 pm
secretzimbo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:01 pm
Can anyone familiar with Bulawayo help identifying these old cricket ovals?
Ground 1 - At Fairbridge/Cecil. & Ground 2 - Off First at the bottom of Townsend Road
I have an idea that was Old Techs.
Old Techs?
http://www.bulawayomemories.com/CLUBS/o ... sters.html
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Thanks! Have updated the list with Busters, and recent updates for Mutare, Masvingo, Kadoma and BAC.
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