INGRAM BACK IN RED-BALL MODE
Star batsman in Warriors squad for Lions game
FORMER Proteas star batsman Colin Ingram returns to the Warriors lineup for their crucial Sunfoil Series cricket match against the Highveld Lions, starting at Buffalo Park in East London today. Ingram has not played a red-ball game for the Warriors since facing up to the Knights at the same venue in January last year.
The 31-year-old announced at the start of this season that he would take a break from multi-day cricket in an effort to help his body recover from a troublesome knee injury.
By all accounts, the left-hander is over the worst and ready to take up the challenge with his franchise teammates as they attempt to continue their push for silverware.
Coach Malibongwe Maketa said: “He’s feeling better and he’s gone through all his tests. He’s feeling good and he believes his knee will hold up until the end of the season.
“So we are going to try to manage him and make sure we help him do just that.”
The Warriors need to win their remaining two matches, starting with the Lions today through Sunday, and then rely on some other results going their way if they are to stand a chance of winning the trophy.
Their final game is against the Titans in Benoni next week.
“There is still so much to play for,” Maketa said.
“We have to go out and win the next two games to be up there as contenders for the championship.
“So we are very keen to get cracking tomorrow.”
While the side have enjoyed a decent amount of success at Buffalo Park in white-ball cricket, their multiday performances have been lacking in certain areas.
“We have struggled to get results in four-day cricket in East London of late,” Maketa said.
“We have to get out of that box and attempt to do something different to get a win in this game,”
“For all the teams, it’s about going all out for the victory this weekend. I think there will be a lot of aggressive cricket, especially with the weather around here in East London.
“We will probably need to find a result in 2½ or three days. So it’s going to be a good challenge for us and for them, I guess.”
Maketa hopes Ingram will bulk up and stabilise a batting order which failed to fire against the Knights in the team’s previous fixture.
South Africa’s most recent bowling sensation, Duanne Olivier, collected 11 wickets as the Knights won by a comfortable 121 runs.
“Duanne really bowled out of his skin against us in the last game,” Maketa said. “He has just shown the amount of progress he has made since making the national team.
“But we didn’t bat as well as we would have liked in the first innings.
“The Knights bowled well, but we contributed to most of our dismissals, which was disappointing.”
Ingram coming in for Andrew Birch is the only change to the squad which last did duty in Bloemfontein.
Warriors squad:
Colin Ackermann, Colin Ingram, Gihahn Cloete, Gionne Koopman, Simon Harmer, Sisanda Magala, Edward Moore, Lesiba Ngoepe, Anrich Nortje, Tladi Bokako, Mohammed Vallie, Basheer Walters, Somila Seyibokwe