Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram has enjoyed a near-perfect return to the fold since bouncing back from an early season knee injury and his performances with bat and ball have inspired some memorable wins in white-ball cricket.
Ingram’s first nine innings for Glamorgan since recovering from an agonising opening day knee injury read as follows: 11, 26, 43, 35, 13, 64, 95*, 85, 60 – a total of 432 runs at an average of 54.
Not bad considering five of those innings came in T20 cricket and the remaining four in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
He has also grabbed seven wickets with his part-time leg-spin – which is becoming anything but part-time – and the South African admitted being delighted by his contributions in all facets of the game.
“It’s been nice to contribute with the ball, I thoroughly enjoy turning my arm over every now and again and it’s been coming out well. The guys are in a good space at the moment and it’s great to be contributing,” he said.
Ingram is currently being rested for Glamorgan’s Specsavers County Championship match against Kent, where rain at the Swalec Stadium on Sunday left the home side on 93 for 2 on day one.
A memorable moment of Ingram’s returning nine-match stint was an acrobatic catch at mid-on to dismiss Sussex Sharks’ captain Luke Wright at a vital moment in the RL 50-over match, which Glamorgan proceeded to win at a canter
Ingram was the Welsh county’s on-field captain in that match, after Jacques Rudolph was struck on the arm by a rising delivery. And it was a successful – albeit short – stint as skipper for Rudolph’s fellow countryman.
“With coming back from injury I haven’t been as fit as I would like, but I really do enjoy my fielding and if you seek out opportunities in the field and you look forward to it, you can change the game,” added Ingram. “And I like to think I’m a pretty whole-hearted cricketer.”
However, Ingram and his teammates know the Proteas man is most potent with the bat in hand, as his recent displays have shown.
The 30-year-old was more-than content with his current form, currently topping the Professional Cricketers’ Association MVP (Most Valuable Player) rankings in the 50-over competition.
Ingram’s blistering 95 not out to inspire Glamorgan to victory in a thrilling match at Canterbury has been arguably the innings of the season so far by any Glamorgan player, along with David Lloyd’s incredible 97 not out against the same county in the T20 Blast.
Ingram said: “I think when things are going well and you’re hitting it nicely you just want to play as much as you can and ride the wave. I’m looking forward to the challenges over the next few weeks.
“There’s still a lot of hard work to be done (in the 50-over competition) and the guys have shown a great deal of character to get stuck in and string a few wins together.”
Glamorgan’s form in the T20 Blast has spawned genuine hope in South Wales of a quarter-final appearance, with a golden chance to appear at a first T20 Finals Day since 2004. It would be a considerable achievement for a side not fancied by many in white-ball cricket.
The form, Ingram insists, brings confidence. “We’ve shown we can beat anyone and we’ve got a good enough side to get to a semi-final or final,” he said.
“There’s good confidence amongst the group at the moment and the season is still young in terms of our T20 campaign.”