Bespectacled Imam Shares Uncle Inzi's Run-laden Focus

Derek Pringle looks at how a prolific young Pakistan batsman has dealt with charges of nepotism by scoring consistently heavily.

As disguises go, the Joe90 spectacles seem pretty good at lulling opponents into a false sense of security. So, while bowlers playing Pakistan do everything to stop the dynamic Fakhar Zaman from smashing his way to a hundred, Imam-ul-Haq, a very much more conventional left-hander, manages to take advantage by making a big score of his own.

Which is precisely what happened to England’s bowlers against Pakistan at Bristol the other day. One minute they were cock-a-hoop at dismissing Zaman cheaply, the next the were applauding Imam’s 150 and looking at another 350-plus total to chase, albeit one their batsmen overhauled with ease.

They are not the only side to perhaps take the studious-looking Imam lightly. Nephew to the famous Inzamam-ul-Haq, arguably Pakistan’s greatest ever batsman and now their chief selector, Imam has played just 27 ODIs and scored six hundreds – a ratio that currently stands as the best in history among those with more than 20 matches to their name.

His innings the other day was classical in shape as well as range of stroke. It always used to be one of the opener’s jobs in 50-over cricket to bat through the innings and score a hundred (in theory at least), and Imam played the part superbly, his dismissal for 151 off 131 balls not coming until the 46th over.

It was a beautifully played and judged innings, the pitch posing problems to batsmen during the opening hour as the last remnants of moisture left the surface. It was a tricky period and one where his combination of tenacity and watchful technique enabled him to prosper to the point where he now holds the highest ODI score for Pakistan against England.