“Kolkata ka wicket to alag that. Yeh to pura road tha.”
These were Kuldeep Yadav’s words after Day 2 of the Guwahati Test. It was hard work for Indian spinners trying to create chances on a red-soil wicket on which the ball hardly deviated.
But it was a different story for Simon Harmer. While in Kolkata, all he had to do was pitch the ball in the right areas to get wickets, in Guwahati, he used his experience and skill to get rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The left-hander was well set on 58 and seemed to have the antidote to whatever Harmer did to engineer the Kolkata heist. But a cunning delivery from the off-spinner left a bewildered Jaiswal staring at the pitch.
The ball, angled in from round the stumps, had him in two minds whether to go forward or back. With his weight on the backfoot, Jaiswal fended at it, only to get a leading edge due to the extra bounce, which carried to short third fielder Marco Jansen, who dived forward to pluck it inches off the ground.
Former England spinner Monty Panesar delved into the finer points of Harmer’s skill.
“The thumb keeps the seam upright and gives more over-spin. When the ball bounces, if it hits the seam, you may get a bit more bounce or sharp turn,” Panesar told The Indian Express. “If you don’t use your thumb as much, there’s a chance that you get more side spin.”
After Jaiswal, Harmer soon dismissed Sai Sudharsan, whose pull was snapped up by Ryan Rickelton at mid-wicket, opening the door for Jansen to run through the line-up. Harmer did what he does best, closing the lid on scoring and testing batters’ techniques.
However, it is not just the extra bounce that Harmer gets that troubles batters. Quite often, visiting spinners on Indian turners resort to too many variations too quickly or resort to negative tactics. But Harmer relies on his stock delivery.
“He may bowl it slower or quicker but the arm-speed seems the same,” said Panesar. “His position is really good and he trusts that process. His lines are quite attacking, that’s why he troubled Indian batsmen. Normally overseas spinners get a bit defensive in their lines and lengths, which is what Indian batsmen want. But Harmer’s not afraid.”
Panesar also questioned the techniques of Indian batters against quality spin. “I don’t think this particular top six has the defence against quality spin. Harmer understands that very well and has the courage to continue to bowl attacking lines.”
When Harmer came to India in 2015, he was far from being a finished product, but since then, has become a county cricket stalwart .
“He’s not a rookie spinner who just popped up, and you send him to India. Not like England has done in the past. You send your Tom Hartleys and Shoaib Bashirs, and you’re not quite sure what you’re going to get from them because they’re so young and haven’t really found their own game yet. Harmer knows his game inside out,” former England batsman Nick Knight told The Indian Express.
That’s a result of working day in-day-out, season after season on the county circuit. It’s not just the skills which have been refined, but through his journey, Harmer has also understood his own bowling. “Here’s a guy who’s really honest with himself. If he has a good day, he’ll talk to you about it. If he has a bad day, he’ll talk to you about it. He’s 30-plus (36) years old. He’s not going to be daunted or threatened by expectations,” Knight concluded.
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