The Glamorgan batsman has been in imperious form since returning to the side after an early season injury lay-off and has risen to the top of both of the PCA Most Valuable Player rankings for both the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup.
Is Colin Ingram the new Michael Klinger?
It’s not a question that gets asked every day. Indeed, perhaps this is the first time. But even if not intended, Ingram is doing what is known in Rankings’ speak as ‘A Klinger’, which is not to be confused with ‘a Klingon’ and all the associated Star Trek nonsense.
Doing ‘A Klinger’ is to do the white-ball double; i.e. top the MVP Rankings for both the Royal London Cup and the Natwest T20 Blast. In 2015 The Gloucestershire skipper scored 654 T20 runs at the rate of 142 runs per 100 balls. He contributed a whopping 34% of his team’s competition runs scoring three hundreds in his first four games and four further fifties in a magnificent personal campaign. The RLC saw similar numbers for Klinger: 531 runs, three hundreds and two fifties, 30% of his team’s runs. He topped the Rankings in both formats, a first for the MVP.
Ingram currently sits top of both, too, although there is still a long way to go and plenty of talent in the respective chasing packs. The South African southpaw has racked up 277 runs in the T20 Blast at the impressive rate of 163 runs per 100 balls. In his last three innings he’s produced scores of 64 off 30 against Gloucester Gladiators, 60 off 29 against the Kent Spitfires and 73 off 49 versus Surrey. He’s contributed 33% of Glamorgan’s runs and blasted 22 fours and 16 sixes in the process.
In the RLC, Ingram’s four innings have yielded 228 runs at the rate of 125 runs per 100 balls and he’s chipped in with crucial wickets, too. Last time out he scored 85 off 73 balls against Middlesex and returned figures of 10-0-38-3.
Ingram is one of several players to be enjoying both white-ball formats. Liam Dawson, who was part of England’s World T20 squad a few short months ago and who will hope to get a game next week against Sri Lanka on his home ground of the Ageas Bowl, is ranked 6th in the T20 Blast and third in the RLC MVP.
Dawson has often had to patch up Hampshire’s innings in the Blast making 149 runs at 122 runs per 100 balls. He’s taken seven wickets with an economy rate of 7.12 runs per over. The RLC has seen him score 202 runs at a strike rate superior to his T20 rate (131 runs per 100 balls) and take five wickets.
Dawson’s former colleague Benny Howell, now of Gloucester, has also enjoyed white-ball cricket this year. Howell is ranked 5th in the Blast and 9th in the RLC MVP.
Weather decimated much of the Specsavers County Championship this week. Shiv Thakor was the one player in the top ten to make the most of what play there was, scoring a hundred against Kent at Canterbury to re-enter the top five overall.
NATWEST BLAST T20 MVP
Ingram (Glam) – 15.49 average points
Cobb (Northants) – 14.73
D'Oliveira (Worcs) – 13.04
Klinger (Gloucs) – 10.44
Howell (Gloucs) – 10.32
RLC50 MVP
Ingram (Glam) – 22.23 average points
Lumb (Notts) – 21.18
Dawson (Hants) – 20.33
Gurney (Notts) – 20.17
White (Northants) – 18.85
Ingram and his Glamorgan teammates return to T20 action against Sussex Sharks at The SSE SWALEC on Thursday July 7. Secure your seats by clicking here.