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by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Barely ten months after marking their entry into Test cricket, Bangladesh have a new superstar on the horizon in the shape of a teenager by the name of Mohammad Ashraful.

The 17-year-old right-hand batsman and right-arm leg-spinner made a memorable entry into Test cricket with a century against Sri Lanka in the inaugural Test between the two countries, which also served as part of the Asian Test Championships at the SSC grounds on Saturday.

What was more eye-catching from this teenager was the manner in which he tackled Muttiah Muralitharan, considered by Bangladesh coach and former Australian cricketer Trevor Chappell, as the best of his type in the world.

"It was a fantastic innings for his age, coming up against the best off-spinner in the world and probably the best there's ever been,"said Chappell.

"He is vulnerable against spin, but he came through it very well. He used his feet well especially against the pace bowlers, whom he is quite comfortable playing. He has excellent technique, and plays very straight," he said.

Ashraful showed no signs of nerves when he came out to bat in the second innings with Bangladesh hopelessly placed at 81 for 4. He played more like a veteran who had gone through such situations before. He was not overawed by the occasion that his team was still trailing Sri Lanka by a massive deficit of 384 runs. Neither was he concerned that he was up against the best off-spinner in the world.

"I didn't worry too much about names. I played each ball on its merits. That way I was able to take any pressure off me," said Ashraful.

"When I reached fifty I was very happy for myself, and when I completed my hundred I was even happier because I had a world record and had achieved something for my country," he said.

When he was asked whether he found himself under any pressure from the Sri Lankan fielders at any stage of his innings, Ashraful replied :"They were very polite".

Ashraful said that he was told by his cousin brother Poneer before he left for Sri Lanka that he would be creating a world record if he got a hundred. It was Poneer who encouraged him to play cricket, although he drew inspiration to take to the game by watching his idols Wasim Akram and Sachin Tendulkar.

The names of these superstars figured so much whenever cricket was the topic of conversation with friends, that Ashraful thought for himself, if these guys can make a name for themselves, why not me.

Ashraful surpassed Pakistani Mushtaq Mohammad's world record by 19 days to become the youngest player to score a Test hundred. There was some confusion over his actual date of birth which is July 7, 1984. The Bangladesh Cricket Board had it as September 9, 1984 which led to the false belief that yesterday (Sunday) was his 17th birthday.

In fact, Ashraful was 17 years 63 days old when he got to the record making him also the youngest ever to score a hundred (114) on Test debut. Zimbabwean schoolboy Hamilton Masakadza had scored 119 against the West Indies at Harare in July at the age of 17 years 354 days which was the previous world record.

The other noteworthy fact was that although the team were aware of his all-round capabilities, Ashraful was picked for the Test against Sri Lanka to replace left-arm spinner Enamul Haque.

Ashraful was essentially an opening batsman and he had many partnerships with Javed Omar, his room mate on several tours. Omar said: "Ashraful has a good technique no doubt. He is good against pace and picks up the ball very early".

"Ashraful came to bat at a difficult situation and survived the 20-odd minutes before the close on the second day. He showed some of the senior members of the team how to go about an innings in a Test match," said Chappell.

"His presence in the middle gave encouragement to others also to perform well. His innings showed that Bangladesh has players who can perform at Test level.

"Ashraful has to live up to the standard he has set for himself. He is a future prospect, something that Bangladesh are looking for," he said.

The youngster batted 248 minutes and made Sri Lanka fight hard to get his wicket which came, 15 minutes before the tea break when he hit back a return catch to fast bowler Ruchira Perera. His departure signalled the end of the Bangladesh innings as the last four wickets tumbled within the space of 22 minutes.

It is not the first time that Ashraful has come up against Sri Lanka. When he first came in January 2000 for the under 19 World Cup, he couldn't find a place in the Bangladesh team and was at the butt end of some Sri Lankan scorers, who jokingly told him that if he couldn't find a place in the under 19 side, he had no future, to which he reacted by saying that one day he would play for his country.

He made it to the Bangladesh under 17 team for the ICC Asia Cup in Karachi and was named the best batsman. Bangladesh failed to make it to the final when they lost the semi-final to Sri Lanka (the eventual champions) by 43 runs. Ashraful opening the batting made a top score of 48. He also scored a century against Nepal.

He continued his cricket while at school for Dhaka Metropolis club for whom he has made two hundreds, and made his first appearance for Bangladesh national team against Zimbabwe in a one-day international at Bulawayo in April.

Being the youngest in the family (he has a sister and a brother older than him), Ashraful gets all the encouragement he needs from his family members. But he is greatly indebted to his coach Wahidul Ghani who has put him through his paces since his childhood.

Ashraful who speaks very little English, has to go back to intermediate high school to continue his studies. But his ambition is to become a professional cricketer, now that he's had a taste of fame and money.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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