Tests at Harare (Sports Club ground)
by MOHANDAS MENON
Harare (formerly Salisbury) is the capital of Zimbabwe and is located in the
district of Mashonaland. It is Zimbabwe's largest city, and is its main
commercial and cultural center. The city has a population of over 1.5
million. It was originally named Fort Salisbury in honour of British Prime
Minster Lord Salisbury. Then from 1982 it became Harare. The name Harare is
derived from the name of Chief Neharawe, who, with his people, occupied the
kopje (the hill at the foot of which the commercial area grew), when the
British first seized Mashonaland in 1890. The city was soon settled by the
Europeans and by 1902 it became the capital of Southern Rhodesia. Situated
at a height of 1470m (4825 ft), it has the world's largest tobacco market.
The major cricket grounds in Zimbabwe are located at Harare, which boasts having about 10 first-class grounds. The Harare Sports Club Ground, formerly the Salisbury Sports Club, is the oldest and has been in existence since 1909, when a first-class match was played there. As on date, over 100 first-class matches have been played at this venue. In fact Zimbabwe had played its first ever Test match at this venue from October 18-22, 1992. Since then in all 17 Test matches have been played here. The venue has also hosted 27 limited-over internationals so far.
MATCH BY MATCH RESULTS
| No | Start date | End date | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 18th Oct 1992 | 22nd Oct 1992 | India | drawn |
| 2 | 7th Nov 1992 | 12th Nov 1992 | New Zealand | NZ won by 177 runs |
| 3 | 11th Oct 1994 | 16th Oct 1994 | Sri Lanka | drawn |
| 4 | 26th Oct 1994 | 31st Oct 1994 | Sri Lanka | drawn |
| 5 | 31st Jan 1995 | 5th Feb 1995 | Pakistan | Zim won by an innings & 64 runs |
| 6 | 15th Feb 1995 | 19th Feb 1995 | Pakistan | Pak won by 99 runs |
| 7 | 13th Oct 1995 | 16th Oct 1995 | South Africa | SA won by 7 wickets |
| 8 | 26th Dec 1996 | 30th Dec 1996 | England | drawn |
| 9 | 18th Sep 1997 | 22nd Sep 1997 | New Zealand | drawn |
| 10 | 21st Mar 1998 | 25th Mar 1998 | Pakistan | Pak won by 3 wickets |
| 11 | 7th Oct 1998 | 10th Oct 1998 | India | Zim won by 61 runs |
| 12 | 14th Oct 1999 | 17th Oct 1999 | Australia | Aus won by 10 wicket |
| 13 | 11th Nov 1999 | 14th Nov 1999 | South Africa | SA won by an innings & 219 runs |
| 14 | 26th Nov 1999 | 30th Nov 1999 | Sri Lanka | SL won by 6 wickets |
| 15 | 4th Dec 1999 | 8th Dec 1999 | Sri Lanka | drawn |
| 16 | 19th Sep 2000 | 23rd Sep 2000 | New Zealand | NZ won by 8 wickets |
| 17 | 26th Apr 2001 | 30th Apr 2001 | Bangladesh | Zim won by 8 wickets |
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Draw |
| v Australia | 1 | - | 1 | - |
| v England | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| v India | 2 | 1 | - | 1 |
| v New Zealand | 3 | - | 2 | 1 |
| v Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | - |
| v South Africa | 2 | - | 2 | - |
| v Sri Lanka | 4 | - | 1 | 3 |
| v Bangladesh | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| for Zimbabwe | 17 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
HIGHEST TEAM TOTALS
| Total | For | Vs | Inn | Tst | Series |
| 544-4d | Zimbabwe | Pakistan | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| 465 | New Zealand | Zimbabwe | 1st | 2nd | 2000-01 |
| 462-9d | South Africa | Zimbabwe | 1st | 1st | 1999-00 |
| 456 | Zimbabwe | India | 1st | 1st | 1992-93 |
LOWEST TEAM TOTALS
| Total | For | Vs | Inn | Tst | Series |
| 102 | Zimbabwe | South Africa | 1st | 1st | 1999-00 |
| 137 | Zimbabwe | New Zealand | 2nd | 2nd | 1992-93 |
| 139 | Zimbabwe | Pakistan | 2nd | 3rd | 1994-95 |
| 141 | Zimbabwe | South Africa | 2nd | 1st | 1999-00 |
| 156 | England | Zimbabwe | 1st | 2nd | 1996-97 |
| 158 | Pakistan | Zimbabwe | 2nd | 1st | 1994-95 |
HIGHEST INDIDIDUAL SCORES
Hundreds (25)
| Player | Runs | For | Vs | Inn | Tst | Series |
| GW Flower | 201* | Zim | Pak | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| Mohammad Wasim | 192 | Pak | Zim | 1st | 2nd | 1997-98 |
| GJ Whittall | 188* | Zim | NZ | 2nd | 2nd | 2000-01 |
| TM Dilshan | 163* | SL | Zim | 1st | 2nd | 1999-00 |
| A Flower | 156 | Zim | Pak | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| SR Waugh | 151* | Aus | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1999-00 |
| GW Flower | 151 | Zim | NZ | 2nd | 1st | 1997-98 |
| DL Houghton | 142 | Zim | SL | 1st | 3rd | 1994-95 |
| MD Crowe | 140 | NZ | Zim | 1st | 2nd | 1992-93 |
| AC Hudson | 201* | Zim | Pak | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| A Flower | 129 | Zim | SL | 2nd | 2nd | 1999-00 |
| AP Gurusinha | 128 | SL | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| MV Boucher | 125 | SA | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1999-00 |
| CL Cairns | 124 | NZ | Zim | 1st | 2nd | 2000-01 |
| DL Houghton | 121 | Zim | Ind | 1st | 1st | 1992-93 |
| RS Dravid | 118 | Ind | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1998-99 |
| S Ranatunga | 118 | SL | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| HP Tillakaratne | 116 | SL | Zim | 1st | 3rd | 1994-95 |
| JH Kallis | 115 | SA | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1999-00 |
| GJ Whittall | 113* | Zim | Pak | 1st | 1st | 1994-95 |
| RP Arnold | 104* | SL | Zim | 1st | 3rd | 1999-00 |
| GW Flower | 104 | Zim | NZ | 1st | 1st | 1997-98 |
| SV Manjrekar | 104 | Ind | Zim | 1st | 1st | 1992-93 |
| AJ Stewart | 101* | Eng | Zim | 2nd | 2nd | 1996-97 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 101 | Pak | Zim | 1st | 3rd | 1994-95 |
Click on the map to know more about the venues.
by Mohandas Menon