Colin Ingram And Chris Cooke Grind It Out And Re-Write The Glamorgan Record Book

By Alun Rhys Chivers

 

Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke rescued Glamorgan on Monday’s final day of their Division Two County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Cardiff, with a record sixth-wicket stand of 226.

Their partnership surpassed Peter Walker and Don Ward’s 131 against Nottinghamshire at Newport in 1961, and fell just short of Glamorgan’s all time sixth-wicket partnership in four-day cricket.

The match ended in a draw after the pair batted together for 84.1 overs, as Colin Ingram finished unbeaten 155, his highest score for Glamorgan to date, and Chris Cooke was 113 not out as he reached his first century of the season.

This was Ingram’s second century in the Championship this season, and his fifth in all competitions. He batted for 593 minutes in total, having face an incredible 153 overs – or 427 balls – in an innings which included 14 fours.

Cooke batted for 324 minutes, facing 262 balls in an innings which included 17 fours and a six.

Glamorgan had started the fourth day on 212-5, 49 runs adrift of the visitors, but Ingram and Cooke steered them to safety after a gritty display which will hopefully give them some momentum going into the match against Durham at St. Helen’s, which starts on Friday.

Nottinghamshire started the match solidly, reaching 448 in their first innings thanks to Rikki Wessels’ 120 and former Cardiff MCCU batsman Jake Libby’s 109.

By contrast, Glamorgan’s first innings batting display was once again woeful with Aneurin Donald (53) the only batsman to reach a half-century as the Welshmen were dismissed for 187.

Following on in their second innings, still 261 runs behind the visitors, Glamorgan once again found themselves in grave danger at 54-3, but partnerships of 62 between Ingram and Donald and 78 between Ingram and David Lloyd set the foundations early on before Cooke arrived at the crease to dig out the draw.