Proteas commit to spin like never before

When Simon Harmer was recalled to the Proteas in 2022 — seven years after his last Test — it was ostensibly because the selection panel at the time felt there were no other options besides him and Keshav Maharaj.

In that series against Bangladesh, played in April, on slow, turning pitches at Kingsmead and St George’s Park, the duo shared 29 wickets to help South Africa secure a 2-0 series win.

Three years later and ahead of two tours to the subcontinent over the next three months, the picture is very different. Maharaj — South Africa’s most successful Test spinner — is not available for the first Test against Pakistan because of a groin strain, but the Proteas could still field a strong attack that features three frontline spinners.

Starting Harmer, Prenelan Subrayen and Senuran Muthusamy would depend on the conditions the Proteas find at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday’s day 1. But just having those options reflects the increased role that spinners have played domestically.

Much of that has to do with the kind of pitches that have been prepared, which have been criticised by some but proved beneficial on a broader basis in helping the development of young spin bowlers. Paarl and Durban have become havens for spinners in recent years, so much so that different national teams have held training camps at Kingsmead before heading to the subcontinent.

The Proteas didn’t do that for Pakistan, choosing instead to train on specially prepared (or under-prepared) pitches at the Centre of Excellence in Tshwane. It was there that stand-in skipper Aiden Markram — another slow-bowling option — saw just how different each of the spinners he had at his disposal were.

Their craft has been learnt over many years domestically. Between them, Subrayen, Muthusamy and Harmer have played more than 400 first-class matches and while they share only 16 Test caps between them, they are still very experienced.

“‘Subs’ and ‘Sen’ have put in the hard yards and done extremely well in domestic cricket. I’m happy for Subs, he’s been overlooked a few times,” said Harmer of his fellow off-spinner.

Subrayen made his Test debut in Zimbabwe, taking four wickets, but has also endured objections about his action, which recently had to be tested in Brisbane after concerns were raised by the umpires during his ODI debut Down Under.

Despite being part of what could be a spin-dominated attack for Pakistan, and pleased with extra options now available for the Proteas, Harmer remains concerned about the general development of spinners.

“There is still a need for opportunity for spinners, by virtue of spin-bowling coaches — around the world there’s not a lot of them. That stunts the development because guys are left to their own devices to better themselves and improve their games,” he said.

On the domestic circuit, elder statesmen like Shaun von Berg at Boland — last season’s leading wicket-taker in the Four-Day Series — continue to thrive, but younger spinners like Schalk Engelbrecht at the Titans and Bryce Parsons at the Dolphins are becoming increasingly more important for their respective sides.

Robin Peterson at the Warriors is the only head coach in Division 1 who was a frontline spinner, but provincial management is dotted with ex-internationals happy to lend their expertise, even if their primary playing role wasn’t bowling. CSA have employed Paul Adams as spinning bowling lead, who has worked with the national under-19 teams, the winter Academy groups and most notably, last year with the Proteas Women.

For now, the trio in Pakistan know there will be heightened expectations in the next fortnight. Harmer admitted that has bothered him on previous tours to the region, but he’s actually looking forward to what Pakistan will offer — especially if they decide to prepare the surfaces the way they did last year when England toured.

“In those conditions you can look to attack, play around with fields and come up with random fielding positions to make batters feel different. It’s a lot more fun to bowl on turning wickets,” he said.

The series has added pressure as South Africa’s first in defence of their World Test Championship crown. They travel to India next, also for two Tests, in November.