Wisden overview
On September 8, 2001, at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, Mohammad Ashraful turned a terrible mismatch into a piece of history by becoming the youngest man, or boy, ever to make a Test century. Bangladesh still crashed to their customary heavy defeat, but Ashraful brought hope and consolation with a sparkling hundred, repeatedly dancing down the pitch to hit the Sri Lankan spinners, including Murali, back over their heads. It was the day before his 17th birthday according to some sources, and 63 days after it according to others; either way, he broke the longstanding record for the youngest centurion set by Mushtaq Mohammad when he made 101 for Pakistan against India in 1960-61 (17 years, 82 days). Ashraful had started out as a specialist legspinner who could bat a bit, before maturing into an opener from the Shahid Afridi school of carefree strokeplay. Bangladesh's surfeit in that department meant that he began his Test career at No. 6. His legspin now lacks menace, but the wicket of Andy Flower on one-day debut suggests some potential. Andrew Miller

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