Ingram can be top of the hit parade again as Glam target glory with white ball

THERE is no doubt Glamorgan broke down an important barrier in 2017.

In reaching their first T20 Finals Day since 2004 the Welsh side proved they can compete with the county circuit’s big hitters, building on an impressive 2016 quarter-final exit with a run to the semis, only to fall short to the Birmingham Bears on their Edgbaston home turf.

The trophy eluded Glamorgan but there are plenty of reasons to believe they can go one better in 2018 and pick up a rare piece of silverware in the Vitality Blast.

Not least white ball captain Colin Ingram, the T20 kingpin last season and now at the helm of a formidable looking side.

Whereas last year, the South African was joined by fellow countrymen Jacques Rudolph and (for a time) David Miller in Glamorgan’s top four, this time he will have two Aussies to bat alongside.

Usman Khawaja needs no introduction following his stellar form for Australia in the past few years, and yet he announced himself as a Glamorgan player in emphatic fashion: by smashing three centuries in his first three matches for the county.

Glamorgan chief executive and director of cricket Hugh Morris admitted being surprised by Shaun Marsh’s call-up to the Australian One Day International squad to face England in June.

Marsh had not been a regular on the white ball scene for his country since 2014, having not feature in an Australia ODI at all since February 2017. Yet Marsh, who had previously impressed in Glamorgan colours in early 2018, was one of few Australia players to emerge from that 5-0 series defeat with any credit. He added a century at Trent Bridge to a terrific hundred at Sophia Gardens Cardiff and clearly looks comfortable batting by the banks of the Taff.

His return to the home dressing room in South Wales will be very welcome indeed.

So with Ingram, Khawaja and Marsh, likely to be joined by powerful Welsh talents Kiran Carlson, Aneurin Donald and David Lloyd in the top seven – not to mention the experienced hitting abilities of Chris Cooke – Glamorgan have options. And depth. Their bowling unit will be spearheaded by the guile of Michael Hogan, blended with raw pace in the shape of Timm van der Gugten and Marchant de Lange. With all-rounders Graham Wagg and Craig Meschede – both proven and very effective T20 cricketers – plus the ever-improving spinner Andrew Salter all pushing for a starting place, suddenly head coach Robert Croft is blessed with options.

The South Group is always a tough one. Hampshire are regulars at Finals Day, while the batting prowess boasted by Surrey and Somerset cannot be ignored. Neither can Middlesex, nor Essex, who are both reliably competitive. But in recent years Glamorgan have been in that conversation, largely thanks to The Ingram Show and a mean fast bowling unit.

Few would argue Glamorgan’s 50-over or four-day campaigns this season have been a roaring success. But when Croft at the start of the season outlined his plan to think “short, medium and long term”, it was clear he had high hopes for this Vitality Blast team.

With crowds set to flock to Sophia Gardens Cardiff for the most boisterous and entertaining form of the game, there is no reason for Glamorgan to be fearful.

They have proven they can beat anyone. And led by Big Bash winner and serial run scorer Ingram, they could go far.