KOLKATA: In 2015, when South Africa came to India for a four-match Test series, Simon Harmer was three games old into his career.
A right-arm fingerspinner, he was the sort of spin-bowling all-rounder who would be picked in Asian conditions. He had had a fruitful debut earlier that year, a rich match haul of seven for 153 against West Indies at the New Year's game in Cape Town.
But Harmer, one of the main frontline spinners on the tour to Bangladesh before that India trip, was being groomed for Asian sojourns. On spicy, ragging turners up and down the country, his spin yielded positive results but the Proteas were blanked 3-0. Lost in the immediate aftermath of that particular series — the loss was South Africa's first away from home in nearly a decade — was the way Harmer had exhibited immediate control and knowhow to bowl in these conditions. Different speeds, various angles and using the crease... he had understood the importance of these factors, even on helpful surfaces (he had overall figures of 10/254 across the two games including two four-wicket hauls).
In a team that seldom plays with two spinners, Harmer wasn't going to be assured of a place in other conditions. That came to pass in 2016 when the management handed a debut to Keshav Maharaj, another left-arm fingerspinner. In 2017, Harmer left for England to play for Essex as a 'local' player under the existing rules then. After excelling for Essex over a couple of years — he had even bowled them to a County Championship title in his debut season — he had harboured hopes of playing for England.
Then, England left the European Union and the rules changed. Again. But one door closing can open another door. In 2020, when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) aligned themselves post Brexit, Harmer, in an interview to ESPN, had said: "English cricket has given me the opportunity to become a better person and a better player... but there's a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of dead ends at the moment. So I think in terms of playing for England, as far as I'm aware, that's off the table for the foreseeable future.
"There's a lot of bad blood towards the Kolpaks, and it would take, I think, South Africans and perhaps Cricket South Africa to swallow their pride and seek for those players to return to the South African set-up."
South Africa's cricketing administration changed, a thaw in relationships happened and the likes of Harmer was welcomed back into the national team with open arms. Since making a comeback against Bangladesh in 2022, Harmer hasn't been first choice but he has certainly established himself within the first team.
Three weeks ago in Rawalpindi, he played his part in one of Proteas' biggest standalone Test wins in Asia, his third innings 6/50 his first five-wicket haul outside England and South Africa.
Now, a decade after first troubling India's batters on turning tracks in India, Harmer is back for more. On a turning, already uneven Day Two black soil surface at the Eden Gardens, the 36-year-old used the crease, created different angles and ran through the hosts' middle order to restrict their first innings total to 189.
Temba Bavuma, perhaps understandably, started with Marco Jansen and the more seasoned Maharaj but maybe could have brought on Harmer sooner. But once he was brought on from the Club House End, he bowled unchanged across 14.2 overs either side of lunch for figures of 4/30 (three maidens).
When he was given the ball after a slightly iffy beginning for the visitors on Saturday, he dragged it back within minutes. He immediately got purchase off a length and accounted for Washington Sundar, some drop and turn catching the outside edge to first slip. It was straight from the R Ashwin school of bowling to the left-handers.
In essence, that's what kept the lead down as Harmer ran roughshod through a packed left-hand heavy middle-order. With lots of turn and uneven bounce, especially from the Club House End, he made that his postcode. He would get one to jump, another to skid through before the third one would take the top soil and turn past the outside edge of an extended bat.
The problem with batting on these kinds of surfaces is you are never really sure. Ravindra Jadeja, an accomplished batter, was fairly comfortable but missed an arm ball. He played for the turn while it came in and struck his pad. He also accounted for Axar Patel with one that took off before catching the edge of his blade.
This newer, better version of Harmer — something he admitted to in the post-day press conference — is a product of continued upskilling.
"I'm a lot more confident in my ability," he said when asked about his evolution between 2015 and now. "I don't have as many doubts as I did back then and I was fighting for a place in the team. "Now I feel like I have the skill set to compete. Whether or not it goes my way is sometimes the luck of the draw, but as long as I can look back and say that I put a good amount of balls in the right area, then I can be happy with that."
He certainly landed a lot of balls in the right area. If the visitors are to have any chance of defending on Sunday, Harmer will have to be front and centre again.
