The veteran spinner starred with the ball in both Tests as the South Africans won a series in India for the first time in 25 years.
Despite receiving the Player of the Series award, veteran spinner Simon Harmer said it meant more to him for the Proteas to win in India than it did for him to shine as an individual.
Harmer took eight wickets in the Proteas’ 30-run victory in Kolkata earlier this month, and he grabbed nine scalps in the 408-run win in the second Test in Guwahati which ended on Wednesday.
It was an historic effort by South Africa, with the national side winning a series in India for the first time in 25 years in the five-day format.
All about the team winning
“Coming to India we understood it was going to be a difficult series. They’re a world-class team, especially in their own conditions,” Harmer said after taking 6/37 on Wednesday to help wrap up the series win.
“So for me the focus was always on trying to win the series and the team’s success. The personal stuff is nice to have, but I would have been very happy to leave India after making a small contribution and the team winning. It’s a bonus with a cherry on top that I’ve done well.”
Harmer felt it was premature to make comparisons between him and the best spinners in the world.
After making his Test debut in 2015, the 36-year-old player competed in five matches before being dropped, and in 2017 he signed a Kolpak agreement to play country cricket in the UK, making himself unavailable for the national team. He returned to the Proteas side in 2022 and has since played nine Tests, taking 49 wickets.
Against Pakistan last month, he snatched eight scalps to play a key role in the second Test, helping the SA side draw the two-match series. And he delivered again in both games against India.
‘Happy contributing’
Regardless of his recent performances, and his success at domestic level — he has taken 1,017 wickets in 217 first-class matches — he believed he needed to play more Test cricket and perform in a variety of conditions at the highest level to compare him to global stars.
“I’m very happy with who I am as a person, as a cricketer, and I don’t think I need the public to think more or less of me,” he said.
“I’m quite happy coming here and contributing, and I know it’s going to be a different story when we play in different places around the world.
“I think people will be getting a bit too far ahead of themselves if they start to try and have those sorts of conversations.”
While Harmer was named Player of the Series against India, all-rounder Marco Jansen received the Player of the Match accolade in Guwahati after making 93 runs in South Africa’s first innings and taking six wickets in India’s first innings.
