From exile to match-winner: Simon Harmer's 14 wickets against Australia
The spinner who gave up his Test career for English county cricket took 10 wickets in the deciding Test at Newlands.
Cape Town — Simon Harmer took 14 wickets as South Africa beat Australia 2-1 in their Test series, including 10 in the deciding third Test in Cape Town. Only Australia's Mitchell Starc, with 15, took more.
A career written off
Harmer made his Test debut in 2015 but struggled for a place behind spinners such as Imran Tahir, Dane Piedt and Keshav Maharaj. In 2017, aged 28, he signed for English county Essex under the Kolpak ruling, which let players from countries with EU agreements work in Europe without overseas limits but meant giving up the right to play for South Africa. His international career was widely declared over.
Brexit ended Kolpak deals at the end of 2020. In early 2022, nearly seven years after his last cap, Harmer returned to the Test squad and took 14 wickets in three matches against Bangladesh and England.
A claim to be first spinner
Now 37, Harmer has made a strong case to be South Africa's main Test spinner, Daily Maverick writes. Captain Temba Bavuma was the side's top scorer in the series with just over 200 runs, while Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder were the most consistent performers.
Source: Daily Maverick, 8 November 2026.
