Scattered thinly across South Africa is a clandestine group that dare not speak its name, made up of malcontents, cheroot-smokers, conspiracy theorists and flat-earthers. I write of the Colin Ingram Appreciation Society, or CAS for short.Here is a clan that goes about the serious and not-so-serious business of appreciation far from prying eyes, a world of prompts, winks and secret handshakes. Wherever Ingram takes to the crease, the society is in full session: runs are counted carefully, boundaries celebrated with high-fives. Every innings is deconstructed breathlessly. WhatsApp messages, frequently adjectivally heavy, detail his every move.Ingram once appeared to be of the manner born. His father - remarkably, this is true - was a Protea farmer in the mountains and kloofs north-west of Port Elizabeth, so Ingram had portent-filled beginnings. He was educated at Woodridge High, which also produced Mark Rushmere, another neglected soul. Once out of school, Ingram hauled himself off, of all places, to the fledgling academy in Bloemfontein, to better to understand himself and his game.Seldom can a crisper hitter of a cricket ball have graced the domestic scene, yet Ingram has precious little to show for it. His 31 ODIs came with three catch-your-eye centuries (one against Zimbabwe, two against Pakistan) but at an average of not much above 30 - meagre rewards for a batsman of his apparent class.Detractors say he didnt have enough of the right stuff, while members of CAS murmur wistfully that he was never given his due. Without anyone really noticing, players cut from similar cloth, like David Miller and Rilee Rossouw, nudged in front and Ingram was left to rue chances not taken. He signed a three-year Kolpak deal with Glamorgan in 2014, so his easy joys are now confined to playing for the Eastern Cape-based Warriors, whom he captains loyally and with unrecognised intelligence.Ingram is possibly more of a representative figure than folk realise. Once was a time when the Eastern Cape and Border produced proper cricketers. These two provinces never had the playing stocks of, say, a Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal or Western Province, but Justin Kemp, Makhaya Ntini, Daryll Cullinan, Mark Boucher, Pieter Strydom, Monde Zondeki and Johan Botha all came from there or thereabouts, beneficiaries of a good system with good coaches and a long tradition players were eager to honour. Kepler Wessels, returning from his flirt with Australia in the late 1980s, dragged the then Eastern Province by sheer force of will to the Currie Cup title, and ten years later they were still a force to be reckoned with. Sensing opportunity, Richard Pybus took Border to two first-class finals in the late 1990s. A visit to Buffalo Park, with Boucher pouring all manner of filth into your ear, and Vasbert Drakes and Ntini gunning for you at the other end, was a prospect relished by only the very best.Nowadays Warriors (an amalgamation of Border and Eastern Province) muddle along gamely without really troubling anyone. Hand in hand with their eclipse has been the decline of player stocks and the slow sinking of schools. Once Grey High (Port Elizabeth), Queens College (Queenstown) or Selborne (East London) steamrollered much in their path. No more. Too much administrative fiddling, too much administrative corruption (featuring black and white) and too much insecurity means that the economically depressed region ploughs on rather than thrives. A neighbouring associate union, Kei, has been dissolved entirely, while just last week Jesse Chellan, resigned after 17 months as chief executive officer of Eastern Province. The franchise appears to be financially stable, but this doesnt mean that theres a trustworthy hand on the tiller or any particular direction in which to head. Perhaps the most graphic illustration of the regions decline comes in the form of Botha, three years older than Ingram but part of the same feisty generation. Botha, lest we forget, captained South Africa to a 4-1 ODI series victory over Australia in early 2009, taking over from the injured Graeme Smith, who returned home after the Test series because of a fractured elbow. For a year or three he was a shoo-in for the ODI side, Corrie van Zyl, the temporary coach, using him cleverly at the 2011 World Cup. Soon afterwards, though, Bothas charms began to fade, his decline a perfect metaphor for the descent into mediocrity of the region from which he comes.As for Ingram, he turned 31 a week ago, and his best years might lie ahead. Last year he only played five first-class matches for Warriors, scoring 214 runs at 26.75, but the season before that he scored 852 runs in ten matches at 53.25. In what remains an astounding example of cognitive dissonance, his claims were hardly discussed. He has effectively become South African crickets invisible man. With everyone bemoaning the current talent exodus, mainly for New Zealand, no one is asking why players like Ingram and Botha were allowed to drift away because important people at national level were simply too lazy to care.Then again, CAS continue to hold monthly meetings. They plot, they scheme. With the righteous indignation of true believers, they know that their day will come. 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I had already played Andy and that attack [during the series], but most of them looked a yard or two quicker on that pitch. I can easily say it was one of the quickest tracks India has ever produced. Before I realised, we were six wickets down, and there was probably Karsan Ghavri at the other end. I had scored about 30, and then I thought about playing my shots to get as many runs as possible because I knew the wicket was going to help the spinners a bit later.I was watching Andy bowl from the non-strikers end. Even after bowling for a while he was able to bowl with the same venom because he always had some sort of [expression] when he was charging in; [looking at his eyes] you could make out he was really there. When he was coming in to bowl to me, the same face [expression] I saw from the other side two-three balls earlier wasnt there; instead of really going through, he was just [releasing] the ball when he was bowling at me.I watched him for another over or so, and realised he wasnt going to go full throttle at me. He wanted to finish it off, and knew there was no point going all out against a settled batsman. So, I thought, Let me take a chance with Andy, and then I played some unbelievable shots against him; It was just one of those days that just happens in ones career.Everything came off the middle of the blade. I was even keeping the bouncers down; mostly I would never hook, and [instead would] tap which meant I was coming inside the line and watching the ball throughout. On one occasion, when the bounce from Roberts was more than I expected, I just stood up and flicked it.The timing was so perfect it went like a rocket towards square leg. Immediately after playing, I just looked at Roberts and he went like this (shrug of appreciation). I will never forget that shot and also his reaction. Against Keith Boyce, I went back and hit a straight drive past him; I could see [Clive]Lloyd-y shaking his head [in disbelief].For the last three wickets, we somehow managed partnerships. Bishan [Bedi] was a little plumpy, so running sharp singles was out of my reach, or for that matter, his reach! In the end, when Chandra [BS Chandrasekhar] got out, we had a nearly 30 runs partnership. We could have been run out umpteen times, but Chandra told me, even if you get run out I am not bothered, but I dont want to face [the West Indies quicks]. Aarane ball ondhu run thogonbidappa, saaku (just take a single off the last ball, thats enough).So we would take singles tapping the ball to Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd, and they never hit the stumps. [Alvin] Kallicharan - he and I are good mates even now - said, it cant happen like this in Test cricket.dddddddddddd If I had had three-four chances Id have hit at least one, but I dont know how these people are missing. I said our running between the wickets was too confusing for them.Then, off the third ball in one of Andys overs, I didnt want to take a run after I played my best shot- the square cut. Boyce was at third man, and he was a terrific fielder with a beautiful throw. When I played that shot, I thought it was four, but I could see Boyce had started running. Chandra came halfway [for the second] and didnt know what to do after Boyce fielded, so he shouted, come back, come back [for the second], but I thought it was a boundary and didnt run fast. By that time, Boyce had already picked the ball up, and I thought there was no chance for a second run; I shouted, Chandra, go back.That meant he had to face three balls, so I went up to him and said the first one would be a mild bouncer - those days they didnt bounce tailenders - and the second one would be a yorker; I told him [what] the three balls would be. The first ball was not a bouncer, the second one was overpitched and he tried to defend, and the third was a beautiful delivery - he had to play it and Lloyd took the edge.Chandra really felt bad that I missed out on a hundred. He almost started crying when he came back into the dressing room, and said, I am very, very sorry, Vishy. I couldnt play three balls. I said, Forget it. We enjoyed that partnership. Can anyone run like that with Richards and all these people? Later on, though, he said, it was because of you I got out. Because you told me he would bowl like this [and he didnt bowl that way]. It was [all in] good fun. That [he would make it up with his bowling] was expected from him. He was a champion bowler and I think the greatest match-winner I have come across.I heard from Raj Singh [Dungarpur] that [MAK] Pataudi was asking people to watch my innings. He is not [much of]a watcher, but when I was on 20 or something, I believe he said, This lad is going to do something brilliant. I dont want to miss this innings. The Madras crowd is the best even now, because they are very knowledgeable and they appreciate good cricket even from the opponents. I cant forget this innings because even now the people - especially when I go to Chennai - talk about the 97. I wont say this is the greatest innings - but I will probably rate it as one of the best among other big knocks I played, but we won the game so it always stays with you throughout.As told to Arun Venugopal ' ' '