Syed Ashraful Haq is a former Bangladeshi

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. He was the architect of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

's first ever

ICC Trophy The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualifi ...

victory, over

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in May 1979. His 7/23 from 9.2

over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

s completely destroyed the Fiji middle order, leading Bangladesh to a 22 run win. He was also a member of the Bangladesh side that played in the historic match at

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

against the MCC in January 1977. A right hand

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

and an off break bowler, Ashraful remained an integral part of the national side until his retirement in 1981–82 season.

ICC Trophy

The Water Orton Cricket Club ground, in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, was the unlikely setting for

's first-ever international cricket match abroad. On May 24, 1979, Bangladesh played against Fiji in the first

tournament. Bangladesh were the firm favorites, yet batting first they only scored 103 all out. An upset looked on the cards, until Syed Ashraful came on to bowl. The magic of his spin completely mesmerized the Pacific islanders. From 40/2,

collapsed to 81 all out. It was at that time the best figures for a Bangladeshi bowler in international cricket, until Obaidul Haq Azam improved the figures with his 7/18 against the MCC. It was also the record for best bowling in the ICC Trophy.

Ole Mortensen Ole Henrik Mortensen (born 29 January 1958) is a Danish first-class cricketer, probably the best his country has produced. A fast-medium right-arm bowler, in a first-class career with Derbyshire that ran from 1983 to 1994 he took 434 wickets at ...

, the Danish and Derbyshire fast bowler improved the figures with 7/19 against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in Kenya, 1994. Ashraful had an impressive

with both bat and ball. He used his long experience in English conditions to great effect. As well as his success with the ball, he played several useful innings: 23 against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, 22 against

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and 31 against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. banglacricket scorecards ICC79 (Retrieved on 2008-08-07)

Other international matches

He was a part of the

team that played in the historical game against the MCC at

in January 1977. He failed in the match, but he did score 68 for East Zone at

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

. In fact, he seemed to have a special liking for

. A year later, against test standard Sri Lankan side he scored 42 and 49, and captured 2 wickets for 70 runs at

. He retired from international cricket after the 1981–82 season.

In domestic cricket

He played most of his club cricket at

with the Azad Boys club. In national cricket, he became the first player to score a double hundred, scoring 214 for Bangladesh Shipping Corporation in 1981–82 season.

As a cricket administrator

Syed Ashraful Haque is currently the chief executive officer of the

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council also known as ACC is a cricket organisation which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haque, Ashraful Bangladeshi cricketers Living people Dacca University cricketers East Pakistan cricketers East Pakistan Whites cricketers Cricketers from Dhaka Bangladeshi cricket administrators Year of birth missing (living people) St. Gregory's High School and College alumni

ICC Trophy

Other international matches

In domestic cricket

As a cricket administrator

See also

References