Glamorgan's in-form batsman Chris Cooke. Pic: Getty Images.

Glamorgan Run Machines Chris Cooke And Colin Ingram Are Different Class, Says Skipper Kiran Carlson

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By Gareth James

Captain Kiran Carlson has paid tribute to Chris Cooke and Colin Ingram after Glamorgan made it four wins out of five in their Vitality Blast campaign.

The pair were instrumental again as the Welsh county beat Sussex Sharks by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.

For the third match running, their dominant figures with the bat were Ingram (48) and Cooke (50), whose rich vein of form swept them to a formidable total.

Carlson said: “Chris and Colin are playing a different sport at the moment, it’s a pleasure to be able to watch it, they’re timing the ball and taking great options.

“Chris and Colin are both batting tremendously and we managed to get slightly above-par, and to get it done with the ball even though we were a bit sloppy in the field and didn’t bowl as well as we can.

“These days when you play on flat wickets you know you’re going to have to get 200 to stay in the game when you bat first, so if that’s our mind-set we’ll win more than we lose.

The Sharks, though, are moving in the opposite direction. This was their third straight defeat, and their fourth in five games, and they now have a mountain to climb if they are to progress in the competition.

In their most recent defeats it was their batting that let them down, but here it was their bowling.

Ravi Bopara, Sussex’s captain, said: “I thought we were very poor with the ball. Obviously that’s where we lost the game. We bowled about 12 or 13 extra balls. To chase that down was always going to be hard work. That’s where we lost it.

“It’s frustrating to be without certain players. We had high hopes for Ali Orr in the blast this year. That’s been a massive blow for us and we haven’t really replaced him as an opener.

“In this format you need quality openers. They’re generally the guys who win you games.

Glamorgan had made the most of a flat pitch, a fast outfield and some wayward bowling and fielding from the Sharks to pile up 219-5, with Ingram and Cooke again the stars of the show.

There were 23 extras in the innings, including eight no-balls and nine wides.

They got off to a flyer, scoring 71 for 1 in the powerplay. There were also two dropped catches in that opening passage of play, to add to the fielding side’s frustrations, including a sitter by James Coles.

Glamorgan did lose the dangerous looking Eddie Byrom early on, the batsman, injuring himself in the course of a 10-ball 17, and had to be helped off the field.

But captain Carlson maintained the impetus of the innings with two sixes and three fours in a 16-ball 26 before he skied Henry Crocombe to the wicketkeeper Burgess.

Chasing a huge victory target of 220, Sussex never looked in the chase despite a plucky charge from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries.

Tom Clark, pulling across the line, was bowled by Jamie McIlroy in the third over and in the next fellow opener Tom Haines departed, unluckily run out through a deflected straight drive by Alsop.

Sussex needed something special from Bopara, but their skipper departed in sloppy circumstances, lifting a full toss from Carlson to long-on for just ten. And two overs later Shadab Khan was caught at cow corner, just below the dressing rooms, for three.

The situation was hopeless. But no-one told Alsop. And for a short period, while he found a reliable partner in Michael Burgess, the near-impossible looked on.

With ten overs to go Sussex needed 148. Then, from the last five, they needed 90, at an improbable rate of 18 runs an over.

But then Alsop was yorked by Dan Douthwaite to make it 133 for 5 in the 16th over and even the most diehard Sharks supporters gave up hope.

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