Ken Borland

Simon Harmer has not played for South Africa for six-and-a-half years but he has done the job for the Proteas with runs and wickets on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.

Harmer scored a crucial 38 not out with the bat as South Africa rallied from a moderate 298/8 to a very tidy first innings total of 367 all out. The off-spinner then took all four Bangladesh wickets to fall as the tourists battled to 98/4 at stumps.

South Africa have played 55 Tests since Harmer last appeared, against India in Nagpur in November 2015, which is the most Tests missed between appearances for the country, beating the previous record of 47 by Justin Kemp between 2001 and 2005.

He had taken 491 first-class wickets in that period and he wasted no time in making a similar impact at international level, ending the second day with 4/42 in 20 overs.

He broke through with his ninth delivery, which was quicker and flatter but still well pitched up. Shadman Islam was beaten by the flight and went back, the quicker ball whizzing into his stumps to bowl him for 9.

After tea, Harmer won an intriguing battle with Nazmul Hossain Shanto (38), bowling him with a beautiful delivery that drifted into the left-hander, who stretched forward in defence, but the ball spun past his outside edge and just clipped off-stump.

In his next over the 33-year-old had Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque brilliantly caught by Keegan Petersen at silly point for a duck and he followed up four overs before stumps with the important wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim, well-caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne for 7.

Opening batsman Mahmudul Hasan Joy has fought through it all to score 44 not out.

While the Proteas enjoyed an excellent day, there was sorrow for Temba Bavuma, who once again fell frustratingly close to a second Test century.

Bavuma scored a marvellous 93 in the testing conditions,  but fell in the 90s for the second time in his career when he was bowled by off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (40-8-94-3).

Playing in his landmark 50^th Test, Bavuma received a short delivery from Mehidy and went back to cut, but the newish (less than 20 overs old) ball inexplicably turned extremely sharply, cramping the batsman, coming off his pad and ricocheting on to the stumps.

Keshav Maharaj was then bowled for 19 by Ebadot Hossain (29-10-86-2), who nipped a fine delivery through his gate, in the next over. Bavuma and Maharaj had done the bulk of the scoring for South Africa on the second morning as they added 53 for the eighth wicket.

The home side had begun the day on 233/4 after 76.5 overs and the third over with the second new ball saw Bangladesh break through.

Khaled Ahmed (25-3-92-4) seamed the ball back into Verreynne (28), who was trapped lbw in the crease as he did not play with much foot movement. Khaled’s next delivery was a lifting ball outside off stump, which Wiaan Mulder (0) sparred at, sending an edge to gully which was brilliantly caught by a diving Joy.

But Harmer then combined with pace bowlers Lizaad Williams and Duanne Olivier, who both scored 12, to provide a late hurrah for the innings.

Debutant Ryan Rickelton admitted that getting off the mark in Test cricket with a reverse-sweep for four was not the lowest-risk shot he could have played, but he felt quite comfortable doing it on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

Rickelton scored a bright 21, which included four fours, the other highlight being a tremendous off-drive to the boundary off Taskin Ahmed. The 25-year-old fell though half-an-hour after tea as he top-edged a hook to mid-on off fast bowler Ebadot Hossain.

Temba Bavuma (53*) and Kyle Verreynne (27*) then took South Africa through to stumps on 233/4.

“I was a bit nervous before coming out to bat but once I was out there I was more excited about finally getting an opportunity to show what I can offer,” Rickelton said.

“I brought out the reverse-sweep a bit early, but I was a bit tense, just planting my front foot to the off-spinner [Mehidy Hasan Miraz] and patting the ball back.

“If I had still been on nought after 10 or 15 balls then things probably wouldn’t have gone in my favour, so I took a bit of a risk. But it’s not my riskiest option and I felt quite comfortable playing the shot.

“I was just sad not to make it to the end of the day, but Temba has played a great innings and set us up for hopefully a big one tomorrow,” Rickelton said.

The Central Gauteng Lions star admitted that the Proteas had greeted Bangladesh’s decision to bowl first with some interest.

“We were quite surprised because you usually bat first in Durban because the pitch starts to turn as it wears,” Rickelton said. “We were going to bat if we won the toss.

“But all our talk about not having seen a pitch of this nature at Kingsmead before maybe pushed them into it. It’s an interesting wicket.

“When the bowlers hit the deck and aimed at the top of off-stump then it did a bit. There was a bit of seam movement and there are some divots there now.

“There’s also a lot of grass on the pitch, but if the sun keeps shining then it should break up a bit,” Rickelton said.

Madosh Tambwe is enjoying a commanding United Rugby Championship campaign on the wing for the Bulls, but is set for a big payday in France with Bordeaux Begles reportedly making a large offer for his services, something the 24-year-old did not wish to comment on on Monday.

While the Kinshasa-born Tambwe is believed to not be eligible for the Springboks because he does not have a South African passport, his performances in the URC have certainly raised questions about whether he could one day play international rugby.

Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers, who played 15 of his 109 Tests on the wing, says the backing Bulls coach Jake White is giving Tambwe is paying off.

“Madosh is certainly playing well, but he’ll be coming up against the tougher teams now at full-strength. So if he can compete with them and put in good, consistent performances, we could see him stake a claim to step up to international level.

“He’s moved around quite a bit in his career, but we can see at the Bulls the impact a coach who believes in him is having. Madosh is a natural finisher, which is what you want in a wing.

“Look at Makazole Mapimpi: he has the ability to be in the right place and can score tries out of nothing, and I think Madosh could do the same.

“The way he handles the kicking game has been questioned in the past, but he has really improved there and his decision-making in defence has improved too,” De Villiers told The Citizen on Monday.

The 2007 World Cup winner said in order for Tambwe to force his way into a well-stocked Springbok back three, he needs to cut out the little mistakes that are amplified at Test level.

“At national level, you’re looking for a wing who can really limit his mistakes, that and finishing ability really make up the best wingers.

“Madosh just needs to bring his error-rate down a bit, things like losing the ball in contact or being tackled out into touch. But they are small things,” De Villiers said.

The Bulls are apparently willing to let Tambwe go early from his contract, with the compensation they will be paid by Bordeaux allowing the Pretoria franchise to target the signature of the Sharks’ World Cup winning wing Sbu Nkosi.

The Sharks have confirmed an offer from the Bulls is on the table, but “negotiations still have to happen”.

Former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis continues to bat with the same class and explosiveness as he showed in his first match as skipper of the Bangalore Royal Challengers at the weekend, but his team suffered the same fate as they always seem to when they put a big total on the board – losing by five wickets with a full over to spare against the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.

Du Plessis changed gears superbly in his innings as his 88 off 57 balls took Bangalore to 205/2 in Mumbai. Opening the batting, the 37-year-old only scored 17 runs off his first 30 balls in seamer-friendly conditions, but two sixes and a four off West Indian paceman Odean Smith in the 13^th over took him to his half-century off 41 balls. He plundered 38 runs from his next 16 deliveries, adding 118 in 10 overs with Virat Kohli (41* off 29).

But then, in a recurring theme for Bangalore, their bowlers let them down.

As usual when Du Plessis is the star of the day, in what is still though a domestic league, his display led to plenty of questions over why the Proteas have not chosen him since he retired from Test cricket in February 2021.

The current situation is that Du Plessis is technically available for white-ball cricket, but it is difficult to rely on him at national level because his first priority is playing as a T20 free agent in the leagues around the world. Du Plessis wants a contract to play for South Africa, but CSA cannot afford to contract a player who is only available to them some of the time and in only one format.

Last year Du Plessis said he was taking a sabbatical from ODI cricket in order to concentrate on T20 cricket with World Cups being played in 2021 and this year. He has since made no mention of his ODI availability.

So it would seem Du Plessis has had his day in the Proteas shirt.