Simon Harmer emotional after maiden 10-wicket match haul on Day 5 in Cape Town
Simon Harmer, 37, took his maiden 10-wicket match haul on Day 5 of the fifth Test in Cape Town, helping South Africa beat Australia by 176 runs and seal a 2-1 series victory. After the match he struggled for words and fought back tears when asked what he would tell his younger self.
Harmer reflected on a career that included setbacks and a lengthy spell outside international cricket. He lost his place in the South African Test side after the 2015 tour of India, spent several years playing county cricket for Essex, established himself as a key figure there and returned to the South African setup in 2022. On the podium in Cape Town he said, “I don't think I would change my journey for anything. The person that I've become,” before pausing, visibly fighting back tears; he gathered himself and added, “So yeah, just chuffed.”
The match figures that underpinned that emotion were clear: Harmer produced career-best second-innings figures of 6-16 as Australia were bowled out for 111, finishing with match figures of 10-120 and receiving the Player of the Match award. South Africa had entered the final day needing 10 wickets with Australia chasing 288.
Kagiso Rabada, returning after illness had kept him out on Days 2 and 3, made an immediate impact by taking two wickets in the opening over and then removing Travis Head six overs later, providing an early platform for the home attack. Those strikes helped place South Africa in control before Harmer tightened his grip on the Australian batting line-up.
Harmer described his personal approach as focused on basics rather than the occasion. “I think it was just dealing with the expectation, putting that to one side and understanding what I needed to do, getting the ball in the right areas as often as I could,” he said, adding that he used changes of pace, trajectory and angles to keep the Australian batters under pressure.
He also noted the match context for a spinner on a turning surface: “As a spinner on a turning wicket, that's kind of what dreams are made of,” he said, calling the experience “a hell of a lot of fun” and acknowledging that Rabada's early spell had made his own task easier. Harmer had earlier questioned his bowling after the second Test in Gqeberha, saying he felt he had tried too hard to take wickets there and wanted to focus on control in Cape Town.
South Africa's Cape Town win completed a series recovery after a heavy opening defeat and a strong response in the second Test. They had lost the first Test in Durban by 214 runs and then won the second Test in Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs.
The victory in Cape Town also returned South Africa to the top of the ICC Test rankings.
