Glamorgan's Labuschagne excited by Ingram pairing

Marnus Labuschagne says he is “excited” to play alongside in-form batter Colin Ingram on his Glamorgan return against Middlesex.

Labuschagne, 28, will be making his first appearance of the season for the Welsh county on Friday after signing on for a further two seasons in September 2023.

Labuschagne and South African batter Ingram, Division Two’s leading run scorer, are the two overseas players featuring in the match, with Pakistan bowler Mir Hamza rested after taking seven wickets in the win over Sussex.

Only two official overseas players are allowed to play in any match.

“I can’t wait,” said Labuschagne, who arrived back in Wales earlier this week.

“I haven’t played for a while so you’re always itching to get out there and there will be some nerves flowing but it’ll be good to be back.

“I’ve known Colin for a long time but I’ve never actually played with Col in red ball cricket.

“He’s firing really well at number 5 and Kiran [Carlson] and Sam [Northeast] are batting beautifully at 4 and 3, so it’s really exciting to see a line-up of batters like the one we’re going to see [against Middlesex].

“Colin is at that age [38] where he knows his game so well and playing beautifully.

Originally signing for Glamorgan as a relatively little-known international player, Labuschagne hit 1,114 Championship runs in 2019 to earn a starring role in the Ashes series that summer.

He then rose to become the top-rated batter in the world during his time at the Welsh county.

“I’m super motivated, as I always have been, I want to be the best, I’ve said that before,” added Labuschagne.

“I want to be the best batter in the world. At the moment, in the last year, I just haven’t been at my best and for me it’s just finding that rhythm and being able to use Glamorgan to find that rhythm and score runs… and make sure the team is winning games and that’s really my objective.

“I love the club and I want to do something great with the club and see that journey progress in to Division One.

“We’ve been so close a few years but hopefully this year can be the year we can do it”.