The grit, grind and granite behind Mr. Happy

He may have been the youngest member of the Bangladesh team, but 21-year-old Mahmudul Hasan Joy showed that he has a mature head on his shoulders on way to registering his maiden Test hundred and the first by a Bangladesh batter against South Africa on the third day of the first Test in Durban yesterday.

A display of sheer determination, grit and patience was underlined by the youngster recognising the importance of his wicket and then absorbing a tremendous amount of pressure right after opening the innings on the second day.

Before being the last Bangladesh wicket to fall, Joy made 137 runs and faced a mammoth 326 deliveries, smashed 15 fours and two sixes. He also ensured the visitors would cut down the deficit by scoring some quick runs in the end.

As he held watch throughout, the right-hander was involved in three crucial 50-plus partnerships, with Najmul Hossain, Liton Das and Mehedi Hasan Miraz. It never seemed that Joy was playing just his third Test match, let alone in tough South African conditions.

Bangladesh ended up posting 298 runs in their first innings courtesy of that 'one-man show' and were trailing by 69 runs, a gap that will give the visitors the belief they can put up a fight in the Test.

Joy had earlier shown glimpses of his patience in his second Test, facing 228 balls and scoring 78 in the historic Test win against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in January this year.

The Chandpur native, who was given the nickname 'Mr. Happy' by his childhood coach Syed Shameem Akhter Faruqi for his ever-present smile even in the toughest of times, reflected that character during his tremendous knock yesterday.

Joy used to work with his childhood coach during the offseason and even bought a granite slab to prepare for bouncy tracks.

"Joy's father came to me when he was around 12 years old and asked me to prepare him for admission to BKSP. I worked with him for a year and from the beginning, he was a very hardworking and attentive student. He is an international cricketer now and has big coaches to train him, but whenever he comes to Chandpur, he practises here in my academy," a proud Faruqi -- who is the BCB-appointed Chandpur district coach -- told The Daily Star yesterday.

I have only been here for about two months now and he [Mahmudul Hasan Joy] is one of the boys who caught my eyes as far as talent, work ethic and patience. He stuck to what he knows. He never tried to play any shot that was not in his repertoire. It was something special for Bangladesh. Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh batting coach.

"He contributed to us buying a granite slab for the academy. In fact, before travelling to South Africa he came here and prepared with the fast and bouncy tracks in mind."

Hannan Sarkar, the age-level selector and former national opener who picked Joy during his age-level days, was unsurprised by the transformation of the young boy who was part of the ICC Under-19 World Cup-winning side just a couple of years ago.

"He had the ability to play long innings even during age-level days. And his hunger to play big knocks is something we have seen from the very beginning. He even scored a thousand runs in a year during his under-19 days in 2019. He likes to take some time. Once he gets set, he starts to explore," Hannan said.

"The main thing is he knows his limitations very well. One of his problems was that he tried to chase balls away from his body. But what I have noticed is that he has worked on his footwork, which has worked well for him. Joy still tried to play a few of those [away from his body] in the ongoing Test, but the best part is that he has realised and adapted well. This time, he went back and across to cover the line of the ball," said Hannan.