Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Imam-Ul-Haq acknowledges the applause of the York faithful after being dismissed for a superb and classy 117.
A brilliant second successive century for in-form Pakistani overseas opener Imam-Ul-Haq – 117 off 124 balls – helped Yorkshire beat Lancashire at a sold-out Clifton Park in York and take a significant step towards the knockouts in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
Chasing 295, the White Rose won their third successive match at the start of their Group B campaign – this by seven wickets with 19 balls remaining – to strengthen their position at the top of the table.
Lancashire’s 294-7 having been inserted was underpinned by a fine 102 off 88 balls from opener Michael Jones, his season’s best score. Jack White struck twice for Yorkshire.
And Yorkshire were reduced to 16-1 early in their chase, in front of a 4,500 sun-kissed crowd. But they quickly got things moving as second-wicket pair Imam and Will Luxton shared 153 inside 24 overs.
Invincible Imam hit 10 fours and five sixes and Luxton impressed for 77 off 63 balls.
The former backed up his career best 159 in last Friday’s win at Northamptonshire and is now the competition’s leading run-scorer with 331.
This was the fourth time in left-handed Imam’s List A career that he has scored hundreds in successive matches. He is the fifth batter to do that for Yorkshire.
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Will Luxton impressed with the bat alongside Imam-Ul-Haq.
The hosts won the battle of the only two unbeaten sides in Group B, with Lancashire having won one and had the other abandoned without a ball bowled.
The early stages of this game were dominated by Jones, who played some eye-catching shots down the ground, including one particularly memorable arrow straight six off Ben Coad’s seam.
Jones, a Red Rose-born recruit from Durham at this time last year, reached his fifty off 33 balls and shared in first and second-wicket partnerships of 43 and 92 with George Bell and his Australian captain Marcus Harris.
Scotland international Jones posted a season’s best score, reaching his century off 79 balls. At that stage, Lancashire had moved to 156-3 in the 29th over.
White made the initial breakthrough when he trapped Bell lbw playing to leg before Harris, on 32, was caught behind driving at Matthew Revis’s seam as Lancashire fell to 136-2 in the 23rd over. In the next, Coad had Josh Bohannon lbw for a duck.
Yorkshire made two changes from the side which beat Northamptonshire at Wantage Road on Friday, Coad coming in for his first game of the competition and fellow seamer White returning. Rested were Ben Cliff and Matt Milnes.
Jones was buccaneering early doors and put Yorkshire under significant pressure on a batter’s pitch in the Minster City.
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. The scene at Clifton Park, York today, where a sellout crowd watched Yorkshire triumph in the Roses battle.
Following the departures of Harris and Bohannon, Jones had to check his aggression for a time. But he still eased Dan Moriarty’s spin over cover for a seventh six as the score approached the 150-mark.
However, Yorkshire were good through the middle as they squeezed the scoring rate and ultimately forced the mistake from Jones.
Captain Dom Bess impressed with his off-spin to help turn the tide – 1-41 from 10 overs – but White was the one who removed an advancing Jones as he sliced a catch out to deep cover as the score fell to 175-4 in the 34th over.
Further success came when Dom Bess had Harry Singh caught at long-on for 33 at the start of the 42nd over, with 220 on the board.
Replays suggest George Balderson was reprieved on 18 as he pulled Dan Moriarty for four. That he stepped on the base of his off-stump in the process went unnoticed by the umpires.
Balderson went on to make 70 off 48 balls – his second successive fifty after 65 in victory over Somerset on Sunday – but was caught and bowled by George Hill in the search for quick runs at the end of the innings.
Lancashire made a tight start to their defence, restricting Yorkshire to 16-1 inside seven overs, with Tom Bailey getting Adam Lyth caught behind on the drive.
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Jack White celebrates taking the early wicket of Lancashire’s George Bell.
Yorkshire reached the 10-over mark at 39-1 before Luxton upped the ante by taking three fours and a six – all through leg – as 21 came off the first over from seamer Will Williams.
From that moment on, Luxton and Imam controlled the chase expertly.
Luxton reached his fifty first off 42 balls, followed shortly afterwards by Imam’s off 72. When the latter reached his latest fifty, the White Rose were 115-1 after 22 overs.
They advanced to 140-1 after 25 overs. And even when Luxton miscued the left-arm spin of Charlie Barnard to long-on – 169-2 in the 30th over – it felt like nothing more than a consolatory strike for a Lancashire side who have been heavily affected by Hundred call-ups.
Both Imam and Luxton were strong to leg in clearing the rope.
Imam reached his latest hundred off 118 balls by pulling Bailey for his third six before falling caught at mid-wicket on the pull against Arav Shetty’s spin – 220-3 in the 37th over.
James Wharton and Revis then wrapped things up with 41 apiece in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 75.
Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Michael Jones celebrates his century for Lancashire today.
