Right place, right time
Proteas get better of rain rule to earn semis spot
Daily Dispatch
@Dispatch_DD
THE work in progress that is SA opening batsman Colin Ingram took a significant step towards completion in the Champions Trophy match against West Indies in Cardiff on Friday.
Ingram’s 73 was the only half-century of the game. It followed the six and the 20 he scored against India and Pakistan in SA’s previous two matches. His first-wicket partnerships with Hashim Amla have grown from 13 to 53 to 80. Ingram’s wicket ended those stands in the first two games but he outlasted Amla in the third.
In the space of three innings, the Port Elizabeth-born Ingram has gone from looking out of place and out of sorts at the top of the order to being in the right place at the right time to make the most of his opportunities.
Against India, a clearly nervous Ingram dabbed awkwardly at the fifth ball he faced – bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar on a Sophia Gardens pitch that kept the seamers interested – and edged to second slip. He settled more solidly against Pakistan at Edgbaston, lasting 45 deliveries against their quality attack on a surface that Misbah ul-Haq considered subcontinental in character.
Ingram’s effort on Friday, an innings of fine touch and superb timing, was made in unpleasantly cold and wet conditions - and under the pressure of knowing that defeat would condemn SA to an early exit from the tournament.
The rain-affected match was tied. That meant SA advanced to the semifinals because they had a better net runrate than the West Indies.
“The first few overs the ball dipped around and I definitely felt that if they had bowled in better areas we might have been in more trouble,” Ingram said about his latest performance.
“But credit to Hashim and myself; we stuck in there and tried to look for bad balls. They bowled a bit short on that wicket which allowed us to get through the new ball and build the partnership.”
Ingram was an original selection in the squad but his role changed when Graeme Smith was ruled out with a stress fracture of the ankle.
Specialist opener Alviro Petersen was fetched from Somerset as Smith’s replacement, and it was assumed that Ingram would try to fill the immense shoes of Jacques Kallis, who made himself unavailable for the tournament.
Instead, Ingram has been preferred to Petersen while Robin Peterson, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers have shared the number three slot.
Facing the new ball is not foreign territory for Ingram. He has opened for the Warriors on six occasions.
“It’s been important to stick together with Hashim and look after the new ball,” he said. “The two new balls has probably posed more of a challenge than we thought it would, but we’re looking to assess conditions up front and build the partnership.”
Ingram will hope to further cement his status as an opening option in the semifinal at the Oval on Wednesday. The Proteas’ opponent will be known after the last group match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Oval today.