A monumental 155* from Colin Ingram who batted for almost ten hours plus 113* by Chris Cooke saw Glamorgan draw with Nottinghamshire on the final day of their Specsavers County Championship match at The SSE SWALEC, with the pair batting throughout the day in adding 226 for the sixth wicket, just fourteen runs short of the Club record.
Evening update
Glamorgan were 122 runs to the good when play resumed after tea with the third new ball just two overs away. Ingram and Cooke who had painstakingly added 189 since five to six last night were looking though to finish the job and see their side through to the start of the final hour when the umpires could call time.
Cooke completed his hundred in the first over of the session as he square-cut Jake Libby to complete a 228-ball hundred. In a final throw of the dice, Stuart Broad and Luke Fletcher then returned to the fray with Glamorgan on 387/5, with Cooke thick-edging the England man for four to third man before four byes brought up the 200-stand. Ingram then clipped Fletcher for four to fine-leg before Glamorgan reached the 400-mark.
Cooke square-cut Fletcher for four and after seven overs with the new cherry Patel returned in tandem with the very occasional spin of Michael Lumb. Patel was swept for four as Ingram completed his 150 before the players shook hands at 4.50pm as the match ended all square.
Having arrived at the crease in the 19th over, Ingram duly batted for 590 minutes in which time he faced 427 balls to post his best first-class score for Glamorgan. For his part, Cooke occupied the crease for 322 minutes and faced 262 balls with their efforts ending just short of the Club record sixth wicket stand set by 240 by Jim Allenby and Mark Wallace against Surrey at The Oval in 2010.
Teatime update
Having batted throughout the morning session in adding 87, Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke were looking to continue their good work after lunch with Glamorgan on 299/5 and leading by 38 runs. The only scare Ingram had been when on 99 a ball from Patel spun back towards the stumps causing the South African to display his hockey skills in flicking the ball away.
Ingram duly set the tone by flicking Harry Gurney to fine-leg before savagely cutting him through point. Cooke then cover-drove the left-armer before struck on the helmet by a rising delivery from Gurney. He soon recovered and duly continued the rear-guard action as their stand beat the previous best for the sixth wicket for Glamorgan against Nottinghamshire, set by Peter Walker and Don Ward who added 138 at Newport in 1961.
Stuart Broad then returned at the Cathedral Road End with an unusual field of two silly mid-offs, a silly mid-on and a short mid-wicket. But this “Subbuteo-style” field of four men on the drive did not distract the batsmen as Cooke drilled the England man through the covers for four before Ingram drilled him to wide long-on.
A delay then followed to repair some turf which had become loosened in Broad’s delivery stride before Ingram flicked Patel through square-leg to bring up the 150-stand. Cooke celebrated by cover-driving Patel for four. The lead then went into three figures as a trio of singles came from an over of wrist spin from Pujara before Ingram posted his best first-class score for his adopted county, passing the 137 he made earlier this season against Leicestershire at Grace Road.
Cooke then pulled Hutton for a pair of rasping fours as he moved into the nineties and ended the session one run away from his first Championship hundred since September 2015 when he made an unbeaten 105* against Gloucestershire at Bristol, also in a marathon stand with Colin Ingram.
Morning update
Glamorgan’s batsmen showed greater resilience yesterday with Colin Ingram leading a spirited fightback with an unbeaten 72 and occupying the crease for a fraction over five hours. Last Sunday, he played a starring role in the six-fest at Swansea posting a boundary-laden hundred with a range of expansive blows in the One-Day Cup match against Kent. This Sunday, he took centre-stage in more obdurate mode as he led a gritty fightback after Glamorgan had been invited to follow-on. The South African duly reigned in his attacking instincts to grind out a 153-ball fifty, in stark contrast to his 54-ball half-century at St. Helen’s.
His painstaking efforts, plus those of David Lloyd and Aneurin Donald, meant that the Welsh county ended the third day of this contest trailing by 49 runs and still with five wickets in hand. Luke Fletcher and Harry Gurney resumed the bowling as Ingram and Cooke at first, scored exclusively in singles before the former drove Gurney for two to mid-wicket. After thirty minutes of quiet reconnaissance, Cooke straight drove Fletcher for four.
This rare show of aggression prompted the return of Brett Hutton into the attack and he was on-driven for four by Cooke. Stuart Broad then returned at the River End as the umpteenth single of the morning saw the pair complete their fifty stand. Cooke then flat-batted Hutton for six over fine-leg to bring up the 250. Ingram celebrated by off-driving the seamer for three before Samit Patel returned to the attack. Cooke late cut the spinner for four before the arrears were wiped off as Cooke nurdled Steven MUllaney to the vacant ropes at third man.
Ingram then straight-drove Patel for four before a series of singles saw him complete his hundred – the slowest in the County Championship this summer - from 294 balls after six and three-quarter hours of watchful application. Cooke then pulled Mullaney for four before reaching his half-century by cover-driving Patel for four shortly before lunch as the sixth wicket pair batted throughout the morning session.