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.

The Proteas are always a bit hesitant about what they will find on the opening morning of a Test at Kingsmead and they will go into the first Test against Bangladesh starting in Durban on Thursday with even more uncertainty as a newly relaid pitch will be used for the match.

South Africa have lost seven of their last 10 Tests at Kingsmead, dating back to 2008, with just two wins and a rain-ruined draw against New Zealand in 2016. Their last Test there was the infamous one-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in 2019.

The Proteas have seldom found the sluggish pitch to their liking, their bowlers struggling to drag much life out of it, and their strokeplayers also unsure of themselves. The home side was happy to see a fair covering of grass on the wicket on Wednesday, but it was of a hue that left even KZN Dolphins star Keshav Maharaj confused as to how it might behave.

“It’s difficult to know how the pitch will play because we have not seen this colour of grass here before,” left-arm spinner Maharaj said on Wednesday. “It is a newly relaid surface and it is difficult to read.

“From my point of view, I hope it does spin of course. We’re expecting it to be a good four-day pitch and I’m sure there will be some thought of playing double spinners.

“I’ve never played a match with Simon Harmer, so I will be really excited if he does get the opportunity. He’s been an exceptional performer at domestic and franchise level, and he’s followed that up this season.

“He’s also done well when he played international cricket,” Maharaj said of the off-spinner who took 20 wickets in the five Tests he played up to 2015 before his Kolpak departure, at an average of 29.40.

With some new faces in line to take the place of the players unavailable because they are at the IPL, Maharaj is expecting the Proteas to play with great energy as they look to win their first Test at Kingsmead since 2013, when Jacques Kallis signed off his Test career with a memorable century against India.

“We’ve had a phenomenal year since touring the West Indies. Yes, there have been some lows, and the ODI loss to Bangladesh has hurt, but this is a different unit and hopefully we can carry the confidence from the Test series against India,” Maharaj said.

“This team has come a long way, we make training uncomfortable to try emulate what we will come across in terms of conditions, and we are ready to turn the tide at Kingsmead.

“There’s a new buzz in the camp because there are a lot of youngsters, hopefully those new faces help us start on the front foot because it will be difficult in a two-Test series if we make a slow start,” Maharaj said.

Proteas captain Dean Elgar said on Monday that he has made peace with the four players who are not available for the Test series against Bangladesh because they are in India for the IPL, and he has full confidence in their replacements ahead of the first match starting on Thursday in Durban.

Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram will all be missing from the team that drew the series in New Zealand. Pace bowlers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are also in India.

Keegan Petersen was always likely to return at the expense of probably Markram, while Ryan Rickelton is in line to make his long-awaited debut.

On the bowling front, Lizaad Williams, Glenton Stuurman and Duanne Olivier are the potential replacements for Rabada and Jansen.

“A lot of events have happened lately and I’m pretty comfortable where I sit with the players that are not here,” Elgar said. “I’ve had in-detail chats with all of them, to find out mentally where they are in terms of Test cricket versus the IPL.

“The players were put in a pretty unavoidable position due to the No Objection Certificates and agreements between the BCCI and CSA. No rash decisions were made and I know where they stand.

“But we can’t lick our wounds for too long and I’m very comfortable making do with the next best players, I’m confident they will cover all the bases.

“We’ve lost a few caps, but it’s a great opportunity for the new players to put the unavailable ones under pressure,” Elgar said.

The Test captain was also left in the lurch by the poor performances in the ODI series, which have allowed Bangladesh to take tremendous momentum into the Tests. Elgar said it was clear from the ODIs that Bangladesh now have the apposite skills and attitude for South African conditions.

“The ODI result really hurt, even for me and I wasn’t involved in it. Hopefully that has fuelled us a bit more and our hunger to do well will be right up there.

“Bangladesh are a new-look team and their coaches have obviously changed their mindset about how to play in South Africa. I think it’s going to be a good contest and we’ll need to nail down our basics.

“We are known to start series quite poorly, it’s always a talking point and I’ve emphasised it a lot with the team. I’m not sure what the reason for it is, but by making the players aware of it and trying to avoid it, that gives us the best chance to win the series.

“We need to find a way to not start poorly because it’s just a two-match series. I’m trying my utmost to get the message across that we need to start well,” Elgar said.