Spin king Harmer okay with support role

SIMON Harmer is the leading wicket-taker after the first few rounds of the Four-Day Series. Simon Harmer was the leading wicket-taker in the same competition last year, helping his provincial team annex the title. Harmer – all things being equal – won't start the first Test for the Proteas against Australia at the Gabba on December 17. He's okay with that.

“I'm under no illusions about the role I'll be playing in the series,” the 33-year-old off-spinner said on Thursday, shortly before he and the rest of the squad boarded the flight for Sydney. The Proteas will head up the east coast to Brisbane to begin their preparations for the first Test in the Queensland capital.

“I need to make sure that I am the next taxi (off) the rank and make sure I am ready and if the opportunity does present itself that I take it with both hands. With the position I am in, opportunities will be few and far between, (it's) a role that I am comfortable in, supporting Keshav. I have to try and do justice with the opportunities that I do get.”

Harmer, who claimed 44 wickets for the Northerns Titans last season, is once more the leading wicket-taker in the Four-Day series, having claimed 20 wickets in the first three matches of the competition. Fourteen of those were taken last weekend at the Wanderers, providing Harmer with an affirmation of his good form.

“I will take a lot of confidence out of the game at the Wanderers, a place at which traditionally (the ball) doesn't necessarily turn. To finish that first block of four day cricket with a 14-wicket haul will give me a lot of confidence going into the tour of Australia.”

It still won't be enough for him to break into the starting team for the Proteas for the first match at the Gabba. Barring injury, Keshav Maharaj should start as part of the South African attack, given the success the likes of Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon have had there in the past. The most likely opportunity for Harmer may come at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which has traditionally been a venue that assists spin.

“It was something that

Cricket SA, Dean (Elgar) and the management have been very transparent about... Kesh is the No 1 spinner. Justifiably so, he's done incredibly well thus far in international cricket,” said Harmer. “I need to make sure that I am training hard. I see tours like this as an opportunity to work on my game.

“I'm an optimist. I try to find the silver lining in most situations; it's very easy to find excuses and to blame certain aspects, but I don't think that is going to get me very far. I'm 33 now, who knows how much longer I'm going to play the game for. I'm just going to try and add as much value to South African cricket while I'm here and if the opportunity comes along, to try and take that.”

That opportunity may be at the SCG, and if it is the case that he bowls in tandem with Maharaj, it's an opportunity he will relish.

“I've got a month to prepare for that and I need to make sure that I am not overthinking things, keeping things simple and enjoying the occasion,” said Harmer.