Tour match, Northampton, day three: Northants 230-6d drew with Bangladesh 309-7d
Mushfiqur Rahim has impressed his coach Dav Whatmore
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Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim staked his claim for inclusion in the first Test with a fighting unbeaten century on the final day against Northamptonshire.
The uncapped 16-year-old, who scored 63 against Sussex last week, was on 115 when the match ended with Bangladesh on 309-7 in reply to Northants' 230-6.
The score was 53-4 when Rahim stepped to the wicket, but he hit 15 fours and one six in a 207-minute innings.
He added 91 with Khaled Mashud (31) and 87 with Mohammad Rafique (54).
Northants had earlier declared their innings after seamer Anwar Hossain had taken one further wicket to finish with 4-113.
Skipper Usman Afzaal crashed an unbeaten run-a-ball 47, including five boundaries.
Bangladesh then suffered a top-order wobble, with South African Charl Pietersen removing openers Javed Omar and Nafees Iqbal, and Richard King ousting Aftab Ahmed.
Matthew Friedlander had Rajin Saleh caught for one just after lunch, following up with the wicket of Mohammad Ashraful to reduce Bangladesh to 105-5.
But Rahim showed maturity beyond his years to steady the innings.
Should he now force his way into the Test team to face England, he will become the fifth 16-year-old to represent Bangladesh at the highest level.
Coach Dav Whatmore admits it will be hard to leave him out.
He said: "He played some genuinely great shots and hopefully it will give the England bowlers something to think about in the next few days.
"When players are that impressive it seems hard and very unfair to leave them out.
"But even if he doesn't play, games like these are invaluable in terms of broadening his experience.
"He is still young but his potential is massive. Just to make this touring squad has been a fantastic achievement for him."
Northamptonshire: B M Shafayat, T B Huggins, R A White, T W Roberts, M H Wessels (Wkt), U Afzaal (Capt), M J Friedlander, A R White, C Pietersen, R E King, J P Wolstenholme.
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim, Aftab Ahmed, Nafees Iqbal, Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Enamul Haque jnr, Javed Omar, Mohammad Rafique, Anwar Hossain, Khaled Mashud (Capt, Wkt), Tapash Baisya.