Darren Lehmann record safe but former county take the spoils as Imam Ul-Haq stars for Yorkshire CCC
IT would have been ironic had Darren Lehmann’s record for the highest individual innings in Yorkshire’s one-day history fallen in Northampton on Friday.
As the great man looked on from beyond the boundary, in his capacity now as Northamptonshire’s head coach, Imam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan batsman, came within range of seizing his crown.
Imam had moved to 159 with five overs left in the Yorkshire innings when, in attempting to pull the left-armer Luke Guthrie for six towards the old signal box, he was brilliantly caught by Tim Robinson, the New Zealand batsman, who palmed the ball back as his momentum took him over the boundary rope before completing the catch as he stepped back inside.
Thus Lehmann’s mark of 191 against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough in 2001 remained intact and Imam had to content himself with the sixth-highest score in Yorkshire’s history, still a magnificent, career-best performance that inspired a commanding victory by 202 runs.
Imam, the 29-year-old left-hander, recruited for the last two months of the campaign, made batting look easy in the glorious sunshine, with Wantage Road a picture of summer.
As Yorkshire scored 374-5 after choosing to bat, their fifth-highest one-day total and highest for six years, he played beautifully all around the ground and was especially strong through the cover area and square on the leg-side.
Imam faced 130 balls and hit 20 fours to go with two sixes - one a slog-sweep off Yuzvendra Chahal, the India leg-spinner; the other a baseball-esque swat over long-on off Dom Leech, the former Yorkshire pace bowler.
Leech had a day to forget (0-53 from six overs) but then so did all of the Northamptonshire bowlers - even Guthrie, the most successful with 3-87 from eight overs, the seamer also having Adam Lyth caught at cover in the third over and Matty Revis taken at long-off in the penultimate over to go with the wicket of Imam.
Revis played a gem of a hand from No 5, continuing his outstanding form of late with 69 from just 33 balls with five fours and four sixes, his highest score in white-ball cricket.
The pitch (fast and true), the outfield (ditto) and the weather (with temperatures up in the mid-20s) were all suited to Revis’s stand-and-deliver style, which most certainly delivered as he helped to turn an imposing total into a terrifying one.
Earlier, James Wharton contributed 66 from 75 balls with five fours and a six, adding 158 for the third-wicket with Imam inside 24 overs.
It followed a second-wicket stand of 83 inside 14 overs between Imam and Will Luxton, who chipped in with 41 from 42 deliveries before falling to the sloppiest cricket of the day from Yorkshire and Imam’s perspective.
It happened like this...
Imam cut a ball from Rob Keogh, the off-spinner, into the covers and set off for a run only to change his mind with Luxton more than halfway up the pitch, the youngster making a desperate effort to regain his ground but beaten by George Bartlett’s return to the bowler. “Yes, no, sorry Will...”
The incident seemed only to motivate Imam. Almost immediately, he reached his fifty from 58 balls and launched a blistering attack on Leech, who was twice cover-driven for four and then pulled to the boundary with such precision that it almost mockingly bisected two fielders.
Imam needed only another 37 balls for his century and another 29 deliveries for his 150, at which point Lehmann could have been forgiven for shifting uneasily in his seat.
But Robinson’s wonderful catch put paid to any prospect of the record falling, Imam walking off to a standing ovation from a good-sized crowd, which graciously applauded a memorable display.
After Imam’s masterclass and Revis’s blitzkrieg, Northamptonshire had next-to-no chance of making what would have been their highest one-day chase and the highest against Yorkshire – save for Lehmann himself strapping on the pads.
Matt Milnes, the only change to the Yorkshire side that opened the competition with a win over Warwickshire at Scarborough on Tuesday, helped to set the tone for the visitors by conceding just 17 runs from five overs, ably supported by partner Ben Cliff.
Cliff, who captured his maiden five-fer at Scarborough, made the first breakthroughs here when, in his sixth over, the 13th of the innings, he had Lewis McManus caught behind with a fine delivery before deflecting a straight drive from Ricardo Vasconcelos on to the stumps to run out Aadi Sharma, backing up.
When Dan Moriarty then struck with his third ball after replacing Cliff, bowling an advancing Vasconcelos, Northamptonshire were 51-3 and in all sorts of strife. George Hill got in on the act when he castled Robinson neck and crop, then Revis had Justin Broad caught at mid-on.
Moriarty had Bartlett, Leech and Guthrie caught in the deep to finish with 4-38, his best figures for Yorkshire in one-day cricket; Bess bowled Luke Procter, and Cliff bowled Keogh as the hosts were dismissed for 172 with 11.1 overs of their innings unused.