Ingram ends with an awards double
COLIN Ingram capped a sensational season for Glamorgan by picking up two awards at the club’s end of season awards ceremony last night.
The South African walked away with the Player of the Year and One-Day Player of the Year gongs following an outstanding campaign across all three formats.
The big-hitting left-hander smashed 1,698 runs in all cricket during 2017, including seven hundreds, and was pivotal to Glamorgan’s white-ball success in a season which saw the Welsh County reach T20 Finals Day for the first time since 2004.
Two centuries in that memorable T20 Blast campaign typified Ingram’s aggressive approach, which has borne fruit for Glamorgan in recent years.
And the county will no doubt be delighted to have secured his services for two more seasons in white-ball cricket after Ingram was named man of the match in Glamorgan’s comprehensive quarter-final win against Leicestershire Foxes. The 32-year old thumped 70 from just 43 balls that night to propel Glamorgan to the Edgbaston semi-finals.
Ingram’s outstanding performances in limited overs cricket began in the 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup. He topped the run scoring charts in that competition, hitting 564 runs which included another three hundreds. The former South Africa international is also nominated for two more prizes at the NatWest PCA Awards next week, including for overall county Player of the Year.
But Ingram’s feats weren’t just limited to white-ball cricket. Facing a starstudded Nottinghamshire attack, he produced a memorable match-saving innings in partnership with Chris Cooke, where he batted seven minutes short of 10 hours and faced 427 deliveries during a personal county best 155 not out.
Cooke was also named Glamorgan’s County Championship Player of the Year in his first full season as the county’s frontline wicket-keeper, following injury in 2016, He took 39 catches and averaged almost 45 runs with the bat.
Cooke’s record 168 run seventh wicket partnership with Jacques Rudolph set up victory for Glamorgan against Worcestershire after they had been reduced to 56/6, while he scored 113 not out during his mammoth 226 run partnership with Ingram against Notts.
With 35 Championship wickets in his first professional season with Glamorgan, Lukas Carey was rewarded with the 2017 Young Player of the Year Award. The Carmarthenborn quick burst onto the scene last year when he terrorised Northants and England star Ben Duckett, and continued his fine form in 2017.
The young seamer opened the bowling for much of the season and troubled batsmen up and down the country with his movement of the new ball. He also made debuts in both the Royal London One-Day Cup and T20 Blast.
Kieran Bull collected the 2nd XI Player of the Year Award, while a special recognition award was presented to Jacques Rudolph following his retirement after four years with Glamorgan. Rudolph enjoyed a very successful white-ball season for Glamorgan, where he captained the side to T20 Finals Day but his influence has been perhaps most beneficial within the dressing room helping to nurture young Welsh talents like Carey, Bull, Aneurin Donald and Andrew Salter.
An enjoyable evening was concluded as head coach Robert Croft was inducted into the Glamorgan Hall of Fame. He remains the only Glamorgan player to do the double of 10,000 runs and 1,000 wickets in first-class cricket and with 411 victims, is also the county’s leading List A wicket-taker.