South Africa have recalled 36-year-old Simon Harmer for their Test squad to face Pakistan this week. Here's why.
Harmer played his last Test match in 2023, when he featured in the second Test of South Africa's home series against West Indies. He took five wickets across both innings to contribute to a 284-run win. That was Hamer's 10th Test appearance, having made his debut in 2015, again against West Indies.
However, since then South Africa have played 15 Test matches, and Harmer has featured in none of them. Given that Keshav Maharaj firmly occupies the Proteas' first-choice spinner position, the Test matches in that time period where Harmer would most likely have won inclusion were South Africa's series in Bangladesh last year, and against Zimbabwe earlier this year. However, Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy, along with Aiden Markram, acted as Maharaj's back-ups in Bangladesh, while Prenelan Subrayan and Muthusamy filled in for Maharaj in Bulawayo.
Read more: No Wasim, no Steyn: Combined all-time Pakistan-South Africa Test XI based on ICC Test rankings
Why has Simon Harmer been recalled for the Pakistan Tests?
South Africa coach, Shukri Conrad, has said he expects conditions in Pakistan to suit "extreme spin" in a similar way to the pitches used in England's Test series in Pakistan last year. To that end, South Africa have the option to play three spinners in their side, with Wiaan Mulder batting in the top order, and Kagiso Rabada as the sole pace specialist down the order.
While recent precedent would suggest South Africa would play Maharaj, Subrayan and Muthusamy in that case, they have an added complication. Maharaj will not play the first Test of the series, having suffered a groin strain during South Africa's recent white-ball series in England. That injury left South Africa needing to pick another spinner in their squad to keep the option of playing three spinners for the first Test.
"Pakistan is one of the tougher places to tour," said Conrad. "And with spin-friendly conditions expected and Keshav only available from the second game, it was important to have an experienced campaigner like Simon in the squad to provide extra depth in the spin department."
Will Harmer play his first Test for 31 months?
Having been selected in the squad, Harmer is not certain to make the final XI for the first Test. While South Africa could opt to play three spinners, they could also choose to field a specialist batter in Mulder's place in the top order, and play Marco Jansen as the second seamer. That would leave two places left for specialist spinners, with Markram also able to contribute.
"We've got to look at how we structure our line-up in terms of balance," said Conrad. "We expect extreme spin in Pakistan. It's about whether we go with two quicks - KG [Rabada] and Wiaan, KG and Marco, and then how many batters, how many spinners. We've got three spinners available for the first Test. Wiaan has made the No. 3 spot his own but it could change based on what we see in Pakistan. Its comes down to the balance of our bowling attack and which seamers there are."
The first Test of the series will get underway tomorrow (October 12), in Lahore.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
