Glamorgan's Colin Ingram knows first-hand what it's like to see Chris Gayle in top form and Ingram is hopeful the Welsh county can stop the global superstar before he gets into his stride as Somerset visit The SSE SWALEC this Saturday, first ball 2.30pm.
Gayle is due to finish his short stint with Somerset in the group stage of this year's NatWest T20 Blast on Saturday in Cardiff, but he's already left his mark on the tournament and Ingram has bad memories of playing against the #WorldBoss in South African domestic T20 cricket.
Gayle has played Ram Slam Cricket in South Africa so I played against him there, but I don't really want to mention what he got as he played very well.
I think it was a hundred off 50 balls against us that day, so I know about his hitting capabilities first hand and he's in good form, so if he trips up on one this weekend it would be great.
You always want to test yourself against the best and we all know how good Chris Gayle is, but hopefully he has an off day.
When T20 first started and you got 50 or 60 that was a good score, so Gayle has taken it on to the the next level and the number of T20 hundreds he gets has really set the bar.
He's an exciting player to watch so hopefully the fans come down and maybe he will hit 1 or 2, but then we get to send him back.
Somerset and Glamorgan have played each other a number of times in one-day cricket in recent years, so there are few secrets. With Matt Maynard now Somerset Head Coach and Jim Allenby amongst their number too after leaving for Somerset last year, and with Craig Meschede and Ingram making the reverse journey to Glamorgan there will be plenty of inside knowledge on both sides but Ingram hopes he can add something.
I only played a handful of games for Somerset last year, but hopefully I can sneak a word or two in here or there, but I'm really looking forward to the local derby.
After returning to winning ways last week against Middlesex, Glamorgan face two games in a week, first against Gloucestershire at Bristol, before the visit of Somerset on Saturday to Cardiff and Ingram is keen to return to form himself after his devastating knock against Surrey first time out.
My last couple of innings haven't gone as I would have liked so there's a good opportunity with two games at the weekend to rack them up again.
What's more the importance of keeping the winning run going rather than requiring a late run of positive results is not lost on Ingram, It is always difficult having to come late in the season needing to string wins together, so it would be great to get a few wins in early and there's been some good signs.
The guys have a good spirit and there's a good vibe in the dressing room so I don't see why we can't put it together and put our names right up there for a quarter-final place.
It's a great home game for us, a good local fixture against Somerset so we're looking forward to it and I know the fans really enjoy it too, so hopefully we can pack in a few and it's a nice sunny day on Saturday.
Glamorgan v Somerset - Ticket Information
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Glamorgan NatWest T20 Blast fixtures at the SWALEC Stadium
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v Somerset - Saturday 13 June 2.30pm
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V Sussex - Sunday 21 June 2.30pm
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V Surrey - Friday 26 June 6.30pm
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V Gloucestershire - Friday 24 July 6.30pm
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Ticket Prices
Adults - £15 (in advance) £25 (on the day) £60 (season ticket)
Students - £10 (in advance) £15 (on the day)
Under 16s - £5 (in advance) £5 (on the day) £10 (season ticket)
Family (2+2) - £35 (in advance)
Groups (10+) £12 per ticket (in advance)
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