Marathon man Chris offers hope
Peter Miller watches a day four vigil as Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke bat the whole day
Glamorgan finished the second day of their match against Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire in Cardiff 261 runs behind on first innings having been bowled out for just 187 in reply to Nottinghamshire’s 448. The follow-on was enforced and they faced batting for two full days to save the game.
That is a difficult task for any team, but for a side that has been on the receiving end of two massive defeats in their first three matches it was even more daunting. Things could not have gone worse for the Welsh county in the opening exchanges of day three, as they found themselves 54-3.
From there it was all about Colin Ingram as the South African batted seven minutes short of 10 hours, facing 427 balls for his undefeated 155. Chris Cooke also made an undefeated century as the two men successfully negotiated the 75 overs that were sent down on the final day without either of them being dismissed.
After the match, Ingram spoke about the feat. “It is quite strange that while you are out there you just get on with it ball by ball and you are in the moment. Looking back now it was a long couple of days and we can be proud of what we have done, but we still want to get on a winning side and maybe this is what we need to really change momentum for us.”
Nottinghamshire used nine bowlers in the second innings, which lasted 171 overs as they struggled to separate the limpet-like Ingram, who reined in his attacking instincts to defend ball after ball to frustrate the visitors.
The marvellous effort in the second innings was in stark contrast with what Glamorgan achieved in their first dig, where they offered far too many of their wickets as nicely wrapped gifts to Nottinghamshire.
The hope for Glamorgan is that this brilliant rearguard effort will be what allows them to bat to their potential. Against Nottinghamshire in this match and away to Leicestershire in the game before the break for the One-Day Cup, the batting has improved markedly.