Gymkhana Club Ground

Nairobi Gymkhana Club
Ground information
Location Nairobi, Kenya
Capacity 7,000
End names
City End
Forest Road End
International information
First ODI 28 September 1996:
Kenya v Sri Lanka
Last ODI 11 October 2010:
Kenya v Afghanistan
First T20I 1 September 2007:
Kenya v Bangladesh
Last T20I 21 June 2023:
Kenya v Uganda
First WT20I 13 December 2022:
Kenya v Uganda
Last WT20I 21 December 2022:
Kenya v Uganda
Team information
East Africa (1958–1986)
Kenya (1986–present)
As of 21 June 2023
Source: CricketArchive

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