Harmer adds test cap to shopping list

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Port Elizabeth

WARRIORS off-spinner Simon Harmer was in a Jeffreys Bay supermarket on Tuesday when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Simon. It’s Andrew Hudson here ...”

With that, Harmer learnt he was part of SA’s squad for the third test against West Indies, which starts at Newlands on Friday.

“I couldn’t quite contain myself,” Harmer said. “But I found a quiet corner to do my thing.”

Did he remember the shopping?

“Yes, a lovely young lady had written a list for me.”

Getting a game in Cape Town will be at the top of Harmer’s wishlist, but he is not able to cross that off just yet.

“All I know is that I have been added to the squad,” he said.

Last season, Harmer and Cobras off-spinner Dane Piedt starred in an enthralling sub-plot to the summer - which of them would replace the out-of-form Imran Tahir in SA’s test squad?

Piedt took 45 first-class wickets for his franchise while Harmer claimed 40. Piedt then made his test debut against Zimbabwe in Harare in August. He struck with his first delivery and finished with 8/152 - the best match figures by a SA spinner in his first test.

But, in September, Piedt dislocated his shoulder while playing in the Champions League T20 in India. He played his first four-day match since then for the Cobras against the Knights in Paarl at the weekend, bowling 47 overs and taking 1/162. Clearly, he is a long way from ready for test cricket.

Piedt’s injury led to Robin Peterson’s return for the Windies series. But SA opted for an all-pace attack at Centurion, and left-arm spinner Peterson was ruled out for the last two matches when he cut his finger during a fielding drill before the start of the second test at St George’s Park.

That prompted Tahir’s recall, and while the leg spinner took three wickets in West Indies’ only innings in Port Elizabeth he benefitted from batting errors more than he imposed himself on the match.

SA know Tahir was not as effective as they needed him to be at St George’s Park. They also know that at Newlands, the fairest pitch in the country, spin will play an important role in deciding the series.

So, Harmer might yet get a break. In three first-class matches for the Warriors this season he has taken 17 wickets at an average of 26.17 - good enough for second place among the wicket-takers behind Titans fast bowler Rowan Richards, who has one more scalp.

By that long and winding road, Harmer has earned his opportunity. The twists and turns of the journey were not lost on him.

“There has been so much disappointment leading up to this moment, but the satisfaction of being able to tell my parents the news makes up for all the shit times,” Harmer said.

And perhaps he should add a test cap to that shopping list.