Bangladesh's Development XI didn't exactly live up to their billing when they were bundled to a thumpingly one-sided defeat in a one-day warm-up match against England in 2003-04. But for the young left-arm spinner, Manjural Islam Rana, there was a silver lining. His two cheap wickets, allied to a no-holds-barred 47 in a futile run-chase, were enough to earn him an international debut in the first ODI at Chittagong. Taking the place of Bangladesh's first-choice spinner, Mohammad Rafique, he celebrated by dismissing the England captain, Michael Vaughan, with his third ball - the first instance of a Bangladeshi taking a wicket in his first international over. He made his Test debut at Harare in 2003-04 but did not impress and has been sidelined since the series against India in December 2004. His best performances in the one-day format was a brace of four-wicket hauls, both Man-of-the-Match winning performances, to help level the series against Zimbabwe in January 2005. He died in a motor accident in March 2007 at the age of 22.
Andrew Miller