Colin Ingram reached the landmark of 1,000 first-class runs this season for the first time in his career with Glamorgan and from the fewest number of innings in the Club’s history during the second day of the Welsh county’s Vitality County Championship match against Leicestershire at Sophia Gardens. (writes Andrew Hignell)
Colin came into the match having already amassed 815 runs at a very healthy average of 81.50 from his 12 innings so far during 2024. Starting the day unbeaten on 63, the morning session saw southpaw complete his fifth century of the campaign, from 150 balls, with a single to square-leg off Tom Scriven. On 117 a booming cover drive took Colin past his previous best seasonal tally of 931, made in 2015, before reaching the 150-mark, from 234 balls with another nudge off his legs against the spin of Louis Kimber.
Colin went to tea unbeaten on 158 before continuing his patient accumulation in the final session of the second day, having been at the crease since the second ball of the Glamorgan innings. On 179 he went past his previous highest for Glamorgan, against Sussex at Sophia Gardens in 2022, before reaching the 1,000 run landmark, shortly after 6pm, and with his side on 396-6 in the 113th over as he cover drove Ian Holland for a single to reach 185 and to become the first batter in the competition to this milestone in 2024, having started the day in twelfth place in the list of the run-scorers.
With this being only his thirteenth innings of the season , he broke Majid Khan’s Club record for the fewest number of innings to reach this milestone with the Pakistani maestro having taken fifteen innings to reach 1,000 runs during 1972. Steve James holds the Club’s record by a domestic player, with the opening batter needing sixteen innings during his run-laden season in 1997 to reach the personal landmark – the same number which Marnus Labuschagne needed to reach 1,000 in 2019. Three other notables in Glamorgan’s batting annals needed eighteen innings to reach the landmark – Alan Butcher in 1990, and both Hugh Morris and Matthew Maynard during 1996.
On 187 Colin unfurled a cover drive for four against Rehan Ahmed to go past his previous highest score in first-class cricket of 190 for Eastern Province against KwaZulu-Natal at the University of Port Elizabeth in 2008/09. Shortly afterwards, he reached his maiden 200 with a square-cut for a single against Louis Kimber – Colin’s 312th delivery. At 39 years and 58 days old, he is not the oldest Glamorgan player to score a maiden double-hundred in first-class cricket as Alan Jones, in 1980 against Hampshire at Basingstoke scored 204 when 41 years old.