Ken Borland

The good people of Gqeberha will no doubt be basing, in part, their decision to buy tickets for the second Test between South Africa and Bangladesh starting at St George’s Park on Friday on whether local hero Simon Harmer will be playing, but veteran groundsman Adrian Carter told The Citizen on Tuesday that he can’t guarantee the pitch will support the use of two spinners.

Harmer, who began his professional career playing for Eastern Province in 2009, dovetailed superbly with Keshav Maharaj in the first Test, taking seven wickets in the match, as well as scoring a vital 38 not out in the first innings as South Africa won by 220 runs at Kingsmead.

“St George’s Park has had the reputation for being low and slow, but this pitch is looking very sporty, although we are still a few days out from the Test,” Carter said.

“We’re aware of what South Africa want, so there won’t be too many surprises, but there is a lot of grass still on the pitch. Local opinion amongst the players is that if it seams it will also spin.

“It turns off the grass though, so it’s not sharp fizz like off the clay in India, but the ends are fairly worn because we’ve had a lot of cricket on the field and there should be some purchase.

“There is rain expected on the weekend though and there’s more assistance for the seamers if the Easterly blows, it lifts the grass up a bit. But it needs to be a gentle wind and it needs to be overcast,” Carter said.

If South Africa do bolster their seam attack then Glenton Stuurman, who has taken 29 wickets in nine matches at his new home ground in Gqeberha, could come in for his second Test. He could replace either Duanne Olivier, whose performance was inadequate at Kingsmead, or Wiaan Mulder, who played only a bit part in the first Test and looked extremely uncertain with the bat.

Long-term, Mulder’s place has to be in serious doubt due to his lack of runs – averaging just 14.40 in 15 innings – and there have also been mutterings that CSA could go back to enforcing a quota of six players of colour, including three Black Africans, in every Proteas starting XI and not just as an average over the season.

Mulder would be the most likely player to make way for a player of colour, but the balance of the Proteas side would also be severely affected if that move comes to fruition.

Even if does not, if Harmer wants to have a long-term playing future in the XI, then he is probably going to have to ensure his batting is good enough to fill the No.7 position. It makes perfect sense, however, for the Proteas management to really want him for the England tour, where some of the venues could have turning pitches and he has enjoyed immense success in county cricket.

Not chasing wickets but focusing on his lines and lengths was the key to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s extraordinary performance that ripped through Bangladesh on the final day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Monday.

Bangladesh resumed on a poor 11/3 on the final morning and crashed to a venue record low of 53 all out in 55 minutes as Maharaj took 7/32 in 10 overs, the best figures in Tests between the two countries.

“There was a bit of spin on offer but it was more about bowling consistent lines and lengths,” Maharaj said. “You know you’re going to get wickets all the time, it was just about being patient.

“I was in a good space with how the ball was coming out, but when you don’t get reward, like in the first innings, then it can lead to a bit of frustration.

“But the emotion I showed was more about my hunger and desire to win a game for my country. It’s hard work and toil and about sticking to the processes,” Maharaj said after the second-best haul of wickets of his career.

Maharaj and Simon Harmer became the first pair of South Africans to be the only two bowlers used to bowl out a team, and Maharaj said when you have a man with 750 first-class wickets at the other end, it is advisable to tap into his knowledge as well.

“It’s always nice having a double-spin attack and the control of Simon was especially good. He had a really good game and he has come back a different type of bowler and player.

“He’s a world-class spinner, you can see that with the shapes and lines of his bowling. He’s a huge addition to the team and it’s nice to see how we each see things out there.

“He has good ideas, he’s fun in the changeroom and just a great asset to have in the team. My local knowledge can then take things a bit further and it was good to see our adaptability to get us across the line.

“It was very emotional for me, I love playing here in Durban, my home, and it was even more special for my family to be here.

“Our record has not been great here, so I’ll be very pleased if we have changed some mindsets and hopefully the guys now want to come back here,” Maharaj said.

Routing the opposition for just 53 in 55 minutes on the final day made for a memorable triumph for the Proteas over Bangladesh on Monday, but the fact the remarkable victory in the first Test happened at Kingsmead will add to the elation for Dean Elgar and his team.

Keshav Maharaj destroyed the Bangladesh batting with 7/32 in 10 overs, the best ever figures for a South African bowler against them, and was ably supported by Simon Harmer (9-3-21-3) as the Proteas surged to victory by 220 runs.

It is only the Proteas’ second win at Kingsmead in their last 10 Tests there dating back to 2009; as a venue it had become a nemesis for them and finally enjoying a tremendous win at their hoodoo ground no doubt contributed to the emotion the players displayed.

“I’ve caught quite a few hidings here,” Elgar, who seemed to be choking back tears during the post-match presentation, said later. “This is the first Test I’ve been part of a winning side here.

“So it’s nice to have victory on our side for a change. The way we played is not the style we are generally used to or the way we want to play, but we showed a lot of character and the resources to adapt.

“Fast bowling is still our prime source of attack, but we play quite a lot in the subcontinent so it’s great to have two spinners bowling in tandem like Keshav and Simon did.

“How awesome was it to see them have the ball on a string and absolutely dominating. It was great to see them competing at such high levels and I think most batting line-ups would have had a tough task against them,” Elgar said.

South African cricket has certainly undergone a sea change in terms of mindset towards using spinners. Given the assistance that an excellent Kingsmead pitch also provided the seam bowlers, Elgar could have resorted to type and backed his pacemen more, especially with the new ball.

“Even if the IPL guys were here, Keshav and Simon would still have bowled most of the overs,” Elgar stated. “My style of captaincy is to play positive cricket and to be ruthless.

“It’s about making bold, brash decisions to take the players out of their comfort zone. It was purely my gut feel to give the spinners the new ball, and the coaches allow me to do me during the game.

“I want to see players put their hands up and make big contributions for the team. I could have bowled the seamers, but I wanted to be ruthless.

“It’s about exposing the players to the level I expect them to play at, and the only way guys coming in are going to know what is needed at this level is through exposure,” Elgar said.

Keshav Maharaj took wickets in each of his first three overs of the day to send Bangladesh crashing to a miserable 53 all out and giving South Africa an overwhelming 220-run victory early on the fifth and final day of the first Test at Kingsmead in Durban on Monday.

Left-arm spinner Maharaj finished with 7/32 in 10 overs, the best ever figures for South Africa against Bangladesh, and combined with off-spinner Simon Harmer (9-3-21-3) to send the tourists crashing from their overnight woes of 11/3, their last 7 wickets falling in just 13 overs and 55 minutes.

Overnight batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (0) failed to see out the first over as the fifth ball, a trademark Maharaj delivery that slid straight on with the arm, trapped him lbw.

Liton Das (2) lamely drove Maharaj to mid-on in his next over, but Maharaj went to his eighth five-wicket haul in Tests with a tremendous, almost unplayable delivery that bowled Yasir Ali (5). Quicker and flatter but still drifting in, the ball then ripped viciously across the right-hander and knocked over his off-stump.

Harmer, who took the first four wickets to fall in the first innings, had Mehidy Hasan Miraz (0) caught at slip and top-scorer Nazmul Hossain Shanto was stumped by Kyle Verreynne for 26 to bring the tailenders to the crease.

That went as you would expect with Maharaj wrapping up the innings for the second-best figures of his career, behind his 9/129 in Sri Lanka in 2018.

Bangladesh’s total was their second-lowest ever and the worst at Tests in Kingsmead, the previous mark being India’s infamous 66 all out on a greentop in 1996/97.

New history was witnessed at the ground on Monday and this time it was spinners who you will remember rather than fast bowlers.