Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Imam-Ul-Haq was sensational at Wantage Road today for a career best 159, helping Yorkshire win their second successive Group B game.
Imam-Ul-Haq’s maiden Yorkshire century helped the county maintain their winning start to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup as they brushed Northamptonshire Steelbacks aside by 202 runs at a sunny Wantage Road today.
The Pakistani overseas batter, opening in this competition, batted through until the end of 45th over for a career best 159 off 130 balls in the White Rose county’s commanding 374-5 total, their fifth highest in all List A cricket.
Left-handed Imam was supported expertly by a fearsome career best 69 off 33 balls from Matthew Revis and a calmer 66 off 75 from James Wharton.
Had the Steelbacks reeled in the 375-target, it would have been their record chase. As it was, they didn’t get anywhere near, bowled out for 172 inside 39 overs.
Left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty impressed with 4-38 from 10 overs, his best return for Yorkshire in this format.
This was the fourth highest margin of runs victory in the county’s List A history.
Imam has made an eye-catching start to his time with the White Rose and today went beyond 5,000 career List A runs with his 13th century.
Most importantly, three games and three wins. One in the Championship and two at the start of this 50-over campaign which sees Yorkshire chase their first piece of limited overs silverware since 2002.
The 29-year-old from Lahore scored a watchful 55 in Tuesday’s opening day win over Warwickshire at Scarborough, in which the county successfully chased 138.
The conditions – an excellent pitch with a fast outfield – meant this could be a more expansive innings, and there was a chance it could have beaten the previous record for Yorkshire’s highest individual score in List A cricket.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Matthew Revis impressed with runs, a wicket and a catch at Wantage Road.
That continues to be held by Darren Lehmann, present on the ground today in his role as Northamptonshire’s head coach. That was 191 for the White Rose against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough in 2001 – a 45-over Norwich Union League game.
Imam was classy on the drive and strong off his pads.
He played one sumptuous on drive early doors against Luke Procter’s new-ball seam and later drove ex-Yorkshire quick Dom Leech through the covers for four twice in as many balls as the score moved to 142-2 in the 25th over.
He gained valuable support from emerging trio, Will Luxton, Wharton and Revis, the latter who extended his recent stunning form against the red ball to run-scoring against the white.
After Adam Lyth had pushed an early catch to cover off Liam Guthrie’s left-arm seam – 8-1 in the third over – Imam shared 83 for the second wicket with Luxton, who looked good for 41 before falling run out.
Imam pushed Rob Keogh’s off-spin to cover, Luxton committed himself to the run and, having been sent back, couldn’t make his ground as the score fell to 91-2 after 16.
Imam took a liking to Leech. Having reached his 50 in 58 balls and his 100 in 95, he clubbed the former England Under 19s man over long-on for six having slog-swept Yuzvendra Chahal’s leg-spin over mid-wicket.
Sandwiched in between the two sixes, Wharton miscued Chahal high to cover, leaving Yorkshire at 249-3 in the 39th over. Those two shared 158 inside 24 overs for the third wicket.
Imam became more and more expansive as his innings progressed, but overall Revis was the most aggressive batter on show as he clubbed five fours and four sixes and reached his fifty in only 25 balls.
He pulled one six, heaved another and crashed the other two over the top on the off-side.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty was Yorkshire’s star with the ball.
Imam fell caught at deep mid-wicket by Tim Robinson off Guthrie – one of those catches where the fielder palms it back before going over the boundary rope and catches it having regained his ground – as Yorkshire slipped to 324-4 after 45 overs.
While Imam’s innings puts him sixth on the list of Yorkshire’s highest individual List A scores, the team were only six runs short of posting the county’s highest ever total against one of the other 17 first-class counties.
The Steelbacks made a solid start to their chase, reaching 41–0 after 10 overs through Ricardo Vasconcelos and captain Lewis McManus. But, unfortunately for them, they needed more. The pressure was increasing by the over.
And when Ben Cliff – five wickets against the Bears on Tuesday – made the breakthrough in a 13th over which ultimately yielded two wickets, Northamptonshire were floundering.
Cliff, having switched ends to the Pavilion End, had McManus caught behind off the inside-edge with a beauty of a nip-backer before Aadi Sharma was run out backing up for one later in the over after Cliff deflected a Vasconcelos drive onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end, leaving the score at 47-2.
Dan Moriarty then struck with his third ball to bowl an advancing Vasconcelos for 23. And at 51-3 in the 15th, it felt like game over.
That view was strengthened when George Hill bowled New Zealand overseas batter Robinson – 67-4 in the 18th. The realistic aim for Northamptonshire was now to achieve respectability.
A number of their batters got starts without going on to make any significant contributions like Imam had done. Justin Broad and George Bartlett fell into that category with 24 and 30 respectively. They both fell in successive overs; Broad caught at wide mid-on off Revis’s sixth ball and Bartlett caught at long-on to hand Moriarty a second wicket. Northamptonshire were now 120-6 after 27 overs.
Procter was bowled by Bess’s off-spin – 154-7 in the 35th – before the excellent Moriarty had Leech and Guthrie caught at deep mid-wicket and long-on in the next to leave the hosts nine down for 161. Cliff then bowled Keogh (23) to finish this things off.
Yorkshire face Lancashire next at York on Tuesday.
Picture by Matt Lewis/Getty Images. Darren Lehmann’s Yorkshire record List A score of 191 remains. Lehmann is Northamptonshire’s current head coach.
