hisThe South African Cricket Team has conquered what has been considered one of the biggest frontiers in world cricket, by defeating India in India in test cricket. And one of the main reasons for this achievement is none other than Simon Harmer. This is the happy homecoming for Simon Harmer because at one stage, it looked like his international career was over. Now, he is standing with one of the biggest achievements in South Africa’s test cricket history. Simon Harmer is the Player of the Series in the recently concluded India tour, for his 17 wickets in 4 innings with an outstanding average of 8.94.
It is a happy homecoming for Harmer, especially after considering there was a time when it seemed he might never be seen in Proteas colours again. The destiny had something else in store. Today, we will talk about the journey of Simon Harmer, from his debut to the Kolpak route to his homecoming again. We will also see the role of the quota system in Harmer’s axing from the team. So let’s begin.
DISCLAIMER: This article is an opinion piece based on the author’s understanding and online research. It does not intend to demean or target any individual or group. The purpose of this piece is solely to provide an analysis. In this article, the author will speak from the perspective of a South African cricket fan and will use the pronoun ‘I’ throughout.
Simon Harmer – A Happy Homecoming For An Off-Spinner
Debut and First Impression in International Cricket
Simon Harmer came from the Transvaal Province, Pretoria, in South Africa. After his good performances in South Africa’s domestic cricket over the years, he was rewarded a place in the South African test team in 2015. He made his test debut in 2015 at Newlands. The offie took 7 wickets in his debut game, and considering the Proteas are touring Asia (Bangladesh and India) next, he will be the key for the team. He played two tests in Bangladesh that were mostly washed out due to rain. In India, he played two tests and had decent numbers, having two 4-fers out of the 4 innings he bowled.
After that 2015 India tour, I don’t know what happened, but he suddenly disappeared from the setup. He wasn’t even considered for the Test team, and it began to feel like he might never return. Simon Harmer was not a part of the international side, but he continued playing domestic cricket in South Africa. By then, Keshav Maharaj had already entered the South African Test setup.
Kolapk Route – A Common Thing for South Africans At That Time
Harmer did what many other South Africans were doing at the time — he took the Kolpak route. And from a player’s perspective, it’s hard to say he was wrong. Harmer must have felt that his international career with South Africa was as good as over. He had a family to look after, and when County Cricket in England was offering good money and stability, why would anyone turn that down? Harmer signed a Kolpak deal with Essex, and as per the rules, he plays for the County as a non-Overseas player. That means he is not allowed to play for South Africa.
Now here is a thing: I (Author) have been a massive supporter of the South African Cricket Team. I am a fan of The Proteas and wanted them to win games, series, and tournaments. And there is a constant love for test cricket. I have seen that era of Grame Smith where AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Jack Kallis, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Faf du Plessis, etc used to play and fight it out away from home. Also heard of that old South African team of the 1990s and 2000s. Have seen the pre-Brexit era where quite a few players left South Africa and played for other countries.
Harmer Restricted To Play For South Africa
Simon Harmer started his new cricketing journey in England. He continues to do well for Essex, taking loads of wickets in First-Class Cricket. But looking at his performances, I (Author) used to get angry and think, why should this guy not be playing for South Africa? Such a good talent was being wasted. I felt the same way about Kyle Abbott, too. He kept doing well in County Cricket, but after signing a Kolpak deal, he became ineligible to play for South Africa as well. Anyway, since we’re talking about Simon Harmer, let’s stay focused on him.
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Role of Quota System
Now, this is something I have included a disclaimer for. There is a rule in South Africa (from the local government) that a certain number of players of colour must play in the playing XI in a particular season. Due to this policy, sometimes the team has to compromise on playing their best XI, because they have to meet the target. I am not a fan of the racial quota policy, but I’m also not in a position to speak decisively about it. Perhaps the government there had its own reasons for implementing such a system.
All I want to say is that players should be picked on merit, not based on colour. If your best XI or best 15 players happen to be Black, then play all of them. And if the best 15 are all White, then pick all of them. That’s it. There is no hate toward anyone — it’s just an opinion that the country’s best talent should play.
Anyway, we’ve seen that most South African players who took Kolpak deals were White. Most is the keyword here — it’s not as if players from other groups never chose the Kolpak route. But many White players did openly or indirectly express their dissatisfaction with the system and eventually left through Kolpak. Even South Africa’s former captain Faf du Plessis was a Kolpak player before AB de Villiers convinced him to return, telling him that several senior players were likely to retire soon.
Simon Harmer Wanted To Play For England?
After knowing that he could not play for SA in internationals, Harmer expressed his desire to play for England in international cricket. Listening to that, I was shocked and sad, thinking that another talented South African had become a victim of politics. We have already seen some of the SA talents like Jason Roy, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, etc, who went on to play for England.
From 2016 to 2022, SA have toured Asia quite a few times. They played away series against India in 2019, against Sri Lanka in 2018, against Pakistan in 2021, and against Bangladesh in 2024. But Simon Harmer was missing from all of these tours.
Brexit – England’s Misfortune, South Africa’s Redemption: The Harmer Comeback Story
Thanks to Brexit that the rule for all the Kolpaks is now gone. Don’t know if there is a loss for them in terms of money, but one thing happened well, now these Kolpaks can play for South Africa. It was a misfortune for England that someone of Harmer’s quality would not play for England. They are still struggling to find a perfect spinner in the team. A ray of hope lit up in me at the thought of seeing Simon Harmer return. And that’s exactly what happened. Around a year after the end of the Kolpak due to Brexit, Harmer featured in the 2022 New Zealand tour squad. But unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to play even one of the two Tests.
In the next series, which was at home, a few big names were missing from the squad due to commitments in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Harmer got the opportunity to feature in the playing XI, and we saw how good he is at his art of off-spin bowling. He took 13 wickets across four innings at an average of 15.15. The off-spinner finished as the 2nd highest wicket-taker after Keshav Maharaj, who took 16 wickets in the series.
After the Bangladesh home series, he played one test each against England, Australia, and the West Indies. In Old Trafford, England batted just once, and Harmer registered figures of 1/73 in 23 overs. Against Australia in the Sydney Test, the same thing happened as he only got the opportunity to bowl in just one inning. He ended up with the figures of 0/109 in 31 overs. In a home test against WI, he took 5 wickets across two innings.
Harmer Returned… and Then Disappeared Again
During that stage, it looks like now Simon Harmer will be a regular member of the South African test cricket team. Maybe not the first-choice spinner with Keshav Maharaj already there, but as a second spinner. Whenever there is a tour of Asia or if SA plays on pitches requiring two spinners, two of the quality spinners, Maharaj and Harmer, spin a web for The Proteas. But that did not happen. He was out of contention again from South Africa’s test side.
By then, it really felt like the South African selectors had moved on from Harmer. Meanwhile, during various Asian tours, South Africa used spinners like George Linde, Dane Piedt, Senuran Muthusamy, Tabraiz Shamsi, and others alongside Maharaj — but Harmer never featured. South Africa weren’t performing particularly well on those Asian tours, and they clearly needed another quality spinner to support Maharaj.
The Comeback Call: Simon Harmer Tells Conrad He Wants the Green & Gold Again
Life was moving on as usual, and then one fine day, SA’s head coach, Shukri Conrad, received a phone call. It was from Simon Harmer. He told him, ‘I want to play international cricket for South Africa again.’ And more than Harmer himself, it was Conrad who wanted him back in Proteas colours.
All of this happened at a time when South Africa was scheduled to tour Asia three times in the 2025–27 WTC cycle. Considering those upcoming subcontinent tours, Conrad didn’t waste even a minute — the process of bringing Harmer back into the side began immediately. Conrad must have spoken to the captain, the selectors, and the team management, and then boom — before the Pakistan tour, Harmer’s name appeared in the squad list.
SA went to Pakistan for a two-match test series. They played the first game in Lahore, and Harmer did not have a great outing in the first inning. Although he took a big wicket of Babar Azam, it was his only wicket in the inning. He redeemed himself in the second inning and took 4 wickets in the second inning. Despite his effort, SA lost the first test.
Now the Proteas reached Rawalpindi, intending to level the series. They also lost the crucial toss on a turning wicket. But thanks to the lower-order runs from Senuran Muthusamy and Kagiso Rabada that SA took a 71-run lead in the first inning. Simon Harmer tore Pakistan apart and took 6 wickets for just 50 runs in the second inning. SA drew the series 1-1, and Harmer took 8 wickets in the game.
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India vs South Africa 2025 Test Series – SA Conquered The Big Challenge and How
Many consider winning a Test series the final frontier, and it posed South Africa’s biggest challenge. On a Kolkata pitch, where a lot of spin and variable bounce are on offer, Harmer extracts the conditions to a good effect. He took 4 wickets in both innings of a test match, helping South Africa win their first-ever test in India since 2010. He becomes the Player of the Match in the 1st IND vs SA test.
SA won the first test, but now they came to Guwahati with the target of something that they have not achieved in the last 25 years: a test series win in India. SA batted first and, with the collective batting effort, put on a mountain of 489 in the first inning. When India came out to bat in their first inning, everyone was expecting a fightback, considering the pitch was good for batting. Marco Jansen bounced out of the Indian team, and Simon Harmer again showed its class here as well, picking up 3 wickets. SA were ahead in the game, and eventually gave India a mammoth 549 runs to chase in the fourth inning.
Harmer didn’t give India even the slightest chance to save the second Test. He took 6 wickets in the second inning, and I must say, he outbowled each and every spinner in this series, whether it is an Indian spinner or his teammate Keshav Maharaj.
See the results of matches in this series HERE
Simon Harmer – A Test Bowler of Pure Class
Simon Harmer has everything that a classical off-spinner should have for test cricket. He has the ability to control the line and lengths, has patience, and can extract the slightest help from any surface. He does not rely on mystery balls and all. The offie uses his flight and drift to a good effect, and the dip he got deceived the batters and forced them to make a mistake. In County cricket, he has bowled on every kind of surface, whether it is a flat deck, a spinning track, or a seam-friendly surface. He has taken more than 1000 wickets in First Class Cricket, playing in South Africa and England.
Harmer taught the other spinners how to bowl on a good wicket during the second test. He varied his pace throughout the 2nd test, slowed down a little bit to get something out of the pitch. On the other hand, he bowled differently in Kolkata, considering the pitch is conducive for the spinners. So as per the conditions on offer, he bowls accordingly, showing how versatile he is. His relentless accuracy, sharp drift, subtle variations, and a sharp cricketing brain. When he gets into a rhythm, he can dictate an entire session on his own, something only high-quality Test spinners are capable of.
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CONCLUSION
As said earlier, I am one of the biggest admirers of Simon Harmer. And watching him bowl like this, dictating terms and controlling the game, felt genuinely satisfying. He may have arrived a little late, at 36, but hopefully, whatever cricket he has left in him, he can use to contribute positively to South Africa. The Proteas still have to tour Sri Lanka in this WTC cycle. And whenever they need to play two spinners, Maharaj and Harmer are the kind of quality pair who are an absolute delight to watch operating in tandem.
SA, as a cricketing nation, is not known for producing spinners. We may have seen a few good spinners, including Maharaj, but a pack of spinners is rare in their cricket. These two are right up there in the list. What do you think about this one? Comment your opinion below. Thank you for reading. Keep following sportschilly.com for the latest updates, opinions, analysis, stories, previews, reviews, insights, and more.
FAQs on Simon Harmer
(1) How many First Class Wickets has Simon Harmer taken till now?
A. As of November 2025, Simon Harmer has a total of 1017 FC wickets in 236 matches. He averages 26.05 and has a strike rate of 55.1.
(2) What is the age of Simon Harmer?
A. As of now, Simon Harmer is 36 years old. His birth date is February 10, 1989.
(3) How many test matches has Simon Harmer played so far?
A. As of 2025, Simon Harmer has played a total of 14 tests and taken 69 wickets. His average is 21.79, and his strike rate is 45.4, and the best figures of 6/37.
(4) Who is Simon Harmer’s wife?
A. Simon Harmer is married to Marissa Harmer. The couple got married in 2009.
(5) What are the stats of Simon Harmer in ODIs and T20Is?
A. As of 2025, Harmer has not played ODIs and T20Is for South Africa.
