Playing a Test in Australia for the first time, Shoriful Islam has already given himself a place in Bangladesh cricket’s record books. But the left-arm pacer’s seven-wicket haul in the second Test in Mackay has also put him in the company of one of the game’s greatest fast bowlers.
Shoriful claimed seven for 48 to bowl Australia out for 210 on Day 2 of the second and final Test, registering the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi in an away Test. His career-best figures are also the best by a Bangladesh bowler against Australia at any venue and by a Bangladeshi quick in Test cricket.
The feat, however, carries an even greater significance. Shoriful is the first visiting bowler in 33 years to take seven wickets in a Test on Australian soil, putting his name alongside West Indies legend Curtly Ambrose.
Ambrose produced one of the most celebrated spells in Test history at the WACA in Perth in 1993, taking seven wickets for just 25 runs. At one stage, the towering West Indian had reduced Australia to seven wickets for just one run. Shoriful’s figures may not match the extraordinary economy of Ambrose’s spell, but his seven-wicket haul has ensured that the two now share a rare place in Australia’s Test history.
Shoriful had already taken six wickets on the opening day, having previously never claimed a five-wicket haul in Tests. He also contributed 14 runs in Bangladesh’s first innings total of just 64, the team’s highest score, before producing the spell that put the Tigers back into the contest.
He unsettled Australia’s batters with sharp bouncers and sharp inswingers on the opening day before returning on Sunday to dismiss Cameron Green with a superb inswinging yorker. With swing and movement offering him little assistance on the second morning, Shoriful relied on his skill and accuracy to complete his seven-for.
His figures surpassed Shahadat Hossain’s six for 27 against South Africa in Mirpur in 2008 to become the best by a Bangladesh quick in Tests. They also bettered Taijul Islam’s seven for 138 against Zimbabwe in Harare earlier this year as the best figures by any Bangladeshi in an away Test.
Shoriful’s heroics have given Bangladesh a chance to make something out of a difficult Test after they were bowled out for way under the hundred-run mark in their first innings. Australia took a 146-run lead, but if the Tigers can overcome that deficit and set a competitive target in their second innings, Shoriful could yet have another opportunity to cap a remarkable Test in style.
