The answer to why spin is the leading factor in India Tests was in front of everyone when India resumed their innings at 37/1 on second day of the Kolkata Test. What began as a boring Saturday, with on-field
officials yawning in the morning, suddenly switched into a spin warfare as the tweakers from both sides collectively led to 13 dismissals, out of 15 wickets fell on the second day.
Simon Harmer, South Africa’s one of the oldest weapons in the current artillery, unlocked the demons in the juice-loaded pitch in the morning session after KL Rahul completed 4000 Test runs. The 36-year-old succeeded in extracting turn – as high as 10.1 degrees – in the 14th over of the day, bamboozling Washington Sundar and breaking a 57-run stand.
That was just the beginning of Harmer’s demolition act. After Sundar, the South African tweaker hunted down 2 more left-handers, in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, along with Dhruv Jurel to complete a 4-wicket haul in the first innings.
Fresh from assaulting Pakistan in their home, Harmer continued his excellence in subcontinent conditions to stun the Asian giants. India, after losing Gill, went rogue but only till Rishabh Pant was in the middle. Harmer had his own traits to bottle up India’s aggression, pitching 94% of his deliveries between good length to full. He beat Jurel with a flighted delivery, trapped Jadeja in front with an arm ball and ended Axar’s resistance extra bounce on this offbreak.
India were bowled out for 189, scraping out a slender 30-run lead. At the heart of the demolition was Simon Harmer, returning 4 for 30.
Harmar is playing only his second Test tour of India, with the two visits separated by nearly a decade. He was a rookie when he first came to India in the tour of 2015. Yet, he managed 10 wickets in 2 matches, averaging 24.50. However, South Africa lost the series and he was among those who faced the repercussions. After getting dropped from the national side, it took him seven years to regain his spot.
“I was quite new to Test cricket. Ravi Ashwin was bowling like a jet and it was the expectation that I needed to do the same, so I was dealing with that and putting myself under even more pressure,” Harmer said after the second day’s play.
“When I got dropped from the national side in 2015 was when I realised that I wasn’t good enough,” he said.
The failure didn’t take him away from the game. Harmer returned to India in 2016 to work with coach Umesh Patwal in Mumbai, uncovering technical insights into spin, which, he believes, became the turning point of his career.
“That was probably the point of my career that gave me the ammunition to get better and develop and become a decent spinner,” he added.
In 2017, he signed a Kolpak deal and embarked on a nine-season spell with Essex, where his game soared. Remarkably consistent, he has never finished outside the top ten wicket-takers in the County Championship, even topping the charts in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
“In the UK, bowling on flat wickets or when there are footmarks and nothing outside of those footmarks, you need to find a way to get the ball to spin quickly,” he explained.
“It’s a skill that I’ve developed there by being able to bowl it a little bit flatter, not always just relying on the loop. Sometimes on slow wickets, it’s too slow and batters can play off the back foot. So, it’s about understanding my game more and finding ways to be better.”
As the Kolpak system ended post-Brexit, Harmer became available for South Africa again. Harmer accepts that his opportunities will come only when extra spin options are needed, as Keshav Maharaj being the first choice. He continues to draw on the vast experience and skill he has sharpened through years of excellence on the county circuit.
“I’ve always wanted to come back to India after the experience in 2015. At Essex, the role that I play, I need to be better each year, especially as a finger spinner. You need to evolve, you need to add strings to your bow.”
“I’m a lot more confident in my ability. I don’t have as many doubts as I did back then and I was fighting for a place in the team. Now I feel like I have the skill set to compete. Whether or not it goes my way is sometimes the luck of the draw, but as long as I can look back and say that I put a good amount of balls in the right area, then I can be happy with that,” Harmer said
