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Youngest Test centurion
Wisden CricInfo staff - September 6, 2001
Saturday, September 8, 2001
Mohammad Ashraful, who made a hundred in Bangladesh's second innings at Colombo today, is almost certainly the youngest Test centurion ever. He was born in 1984, and the exact date is given variously as July 7 or September 9, making him either a day short of 17, or 17 years and 63 days. The previous youngest centurion was Mushtaq Mohammad of Pakistan, who was 17 years and 82 days when he made 101 against India at Delhi in 1960-61.
Ashraful appears also to have broken the record for the youngest debut centurion, set only six weeks ago by Hamilton Masakadza of Zimbabwe. Masakadza was 17 years and 354 days when he hit 119 against West Indies at Harare. The only other under-18 with a Test century to his name was Sachin Tendulkar, who was 17 years and 112 days when he made 119 not out for India against England at Old Trafford in 1990.
Ashraful and Aminul Islam set a new all-wicket partnership record for Bangladesh by adding 126 for the fifth wicket. The previous best was 114 by Habibul Bashar and Mehrab Hossain against Zimbabwe in the second Test at Harare in 2000-01.
Muttiah Muralitharan took his 350th Test wicket when he caught and bowled Mohammad Sharif. He is the fastest to reach this landmark in Test history: this was his 66th Test, and the previous record-holder was Richard Hadlee, who needed 69. Muralitharan has now taken 83 Test wickets at the Sinhalese SportsClub, a record for any single venue – previously it was Dennis Lillee's 82 wickets at the MCG.
Marvan Atapattu's double-century was his fifth in Tests, putting him clear of Greg Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Len Hutton and Zaheer Abbas, who all scored four. Ahead lie only Javed Miandad (six), Walter Hammond (seven) and the inevitable Don Bradman (12).
Muttiah Muralitharan's 5 for 13 was his 27th such haul in Tests. There have only been four cheaper analyses in Test history for a bowler taking exactly five wickets in an innings: 5 for 2 by Ernie Toshack, Australia v India, Brisbane, 1947-48; 5 for 6 by Bert Ironmonger, Australia v South Africa, Melbourne, 1931-32; 5 for 9 by Tim May, Australia v West Indies, Adelaide, 1992-93; and 5 for 11 by Ian Botham, England v Australia, Edgbaston, 1981. There have been some cheaper hauls involving more than five wickets, notably George Lohmann's 8 for 7 for England v South Africa at Johannesburg in 1895-96.
Bangladesh's total of 90 is their lowest in Tests to date. Previously it was 91, in their inaugural Test against India at Dhaka in 2000-01.
Naimur Rahman, Bangladesh's captain, became the first from his country to reach double figures in the wicket column when he dismissed Sanath Jayasuriya lbw. Manjurul Islam lies next, with six wickets – all taken in one innings against Zimbabwe.
This Test set a world record as soon as a ball was bowled. The venue, the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, is where the deciding Test against India ended on Sunday, and the four-day gap was the shortest between two Tests at the same ground involving different countries. The record for matches in the same series is one clear day between Tests at the same venue, which happened in the South Africa-England rubbers of 1905-06 (at Johannesburg) and 1909-10 (at Cape Town). In recent years, there was a gap of only three days between the two Port-of-Spain Tests on England's 1997-98 tour of West Indies, and between the second and third Tests of the 1999-2000 Zimbabwe-Sri Lanka series at Harare.
This is the 19th Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Sri Lanka have won six, lost five and drawn seven of the previous 18.
Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com.
© Wisden CricInfo Ltd
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