In-form Ingram see of Kent in a
The spectators basking in glorious sunshine at the St Helen’s ground in Swansea were treated to a feast of runs – 697 in all – and two exhilarating centuries as Glamorgan recorded a 15-run win in heir Royal London One-day Cup clash with Kent.
Thirty-five sixes were struck in the match, which equalled the record for a List A game, set in the match at Trent Bridge between Northants and Notts last year.
After Glamorgan were asked to bat, their innings was built around innings from Will Bragg and Colin Ingram, who put on 212 for the third wicket after they had lost two wickets in three balls.
Ingram continued his outstanding form in the competition by scoring his third century – two in successive games. His innings of 114 came from 98 balls, which included six fours and eight sixes, and during the eight games, the South African left-hander has hit 29 sixes and 31 fours.
Bragg, who achieved his careerbest score of 94, gave his only chance on 88, and was only six runs away from his maiden century, when he chipped Calum Haggett to cover. The lower middle order also made worthwhile contributions, with Chris Cooke hitting a rapid 36, and Andrew Salter, who struck Ivan Thomas for three successive sixes in the last over, hitting 29 from only nine balls.
Kent needed to score at 7.1 runs an over, and they lost Daniel Bell-Drummond in the eighth over, when he bottom-edged Marchant De Lange to wicketkeeper Cooke.
Joe Denly and Sam Northeast took the score to 75, before both were dismissed in David Lloyd’s second over. Darren Stevens then started a ferocious assault on the Glamorgan attack, and greeted Ingram by hitting him for 32 in his two overs. He quickly moved to 50 from 28 balls, and it took the 41-year-old Stevens only 20 more balls to reach his 100, which included 10 sixes and six fours.
The fourth-wicket pair had put on 131 in just 13 overs, before Sam Billings, who had contributed only 24 to the partnership, was well caught on the long-leg boundary.
There was no respite from Stevens who, when he struck his 14th six, recorded the most maximum hits by an opposing batsman against Glamorgan in List A games. He was eventually out, caught athletically caught by De Lange on the mid-wicket boundary for 147, and left to a standing ovation from the sizeable crowd.
The Glamorgan seamers, relieved to see the back of Stevens, then picked up three more wickets, as Alex Blake and Calum Haggett were caught by Cooke behind the wicket, and Matt Coles was run out from a direct hit by Salter.
Kent required 57 from the last 10 overs, but Charlie Hartley was bowled by Lloyd, who picked up his fifth wicket, and finished with five for 53, his best figures in limited-overs cricket, before James Tredwell was run out attempting a run to the wicketkeeper.
Afterwards, Lloyd said: “It was a tough pitch to bowl on, especially when Darren Stevens was in such form. But we kept on fighting, and we knew we had to take wickets if we had any chance of winning. It was very pleasing to take a career-best, and I will just keep on learning.”