Live Update: Simon Harmer hopes the spinner trend continues at Kingsmead as South Africa weighs two spinners. Simon Harmer pointed to the 2022 Bangladesh Test and a Wanderers ODI as evidence that both coastal and top pitches can help with spin bowling.
Simon Harmer hopes the spin trend continues at Kingsmead as South Africa soon face two spinners (Photo Source: Prakash Singh/) Simon Harmer spoke to the media in Durban on October 7, 2026 ahead of the next Test match and advocated that the Durban venue offers significant help to spin bowlers. The off-spinner pointed to historical evidence on the field and suggested that playing with two spinners at Kingsmead was a realistic game worth considering. Bangladesh’s second innings at Kingsmead in ril 2022 made his point clear.
Keshav Maharaj won with 7-32 and Harmer with 3-21 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 53 points. Maharaj and Harmer were the only South African bowlers needed in this innings. “Traditionally, coastal desks offer help to the spinners.
If I think back to the Bangladesh series (in March and ril 2022), there was a spin bid here, but against West Indies at Wanderers (in March 2023), there was a spin bid too,” Harmer was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. What did the recent Australian ODI series show about the South African spin-offs? South Africa’s ODI series against Australia in September 2026 provided further context for the spin debate, although the format and conditions differed from a Kingsmead Test.
South Africa won the series 2-1 and their spinners took 12 wickets throughout the series at an economy rate of 5.05. In the second ODI at the Wanderers, South Africa won by 32 runs. Maharaj, Aiden Markram and Bjorn Fortuin combined to take 5 wickets for 179 runs in 30 overs in this game.
Harmer admitted that the Australian ODI batters did not cope with the spin as well as they would have hoped, but he was careful not to read too much into it ahead of the Test. He said: “They didn’t play the spin as well as they probably would have liked, but Test cricket is a different ball game.” And they bring in different personnel.
So I hope they don’t play spin well anymore, but we expect them to play it well,” Harmer said. How is pitching and technique part of the spin threat at Kingsmead? Harmer also explained how the bounce in South African conditions affects how batsmen from different regions deal with spin.
He noted that South Africa’s bounce is comparable to Australia’s, which affects the way non-Asian batsmen proach spin bowling. He explained the technical differences between sub-continental and non-sub-continental hitters when it comes to spin on bouncy surfaces. “The recovery (in South Africa) is similar to that in Australia.
Subcontinent players play with very low hands because the ball doesn’t bounce as much (in Asia), so a lot of balls came out of the glove in this series (in Bangladesh). Players from outside the subcontinent play much more in front of their bodies. They like to play ball late and late.
If you look at the way the guys are cutting, the wicketkeeper almost goes out of his gloves and goes behind the point. We (non-Asians) are trying to murder him in front of the court and get a point,” Harmer said. Maharaj’s figures in the first Test at Kingsmead in March 2018, where he scored 5-123 and 4-102, reinforced the argument that the pitch has historically produced particularly rewarding left-arm spins.
Harmer’s comments suggested that South Africa would at least be willing to field two specialist spinners if the Kingsmead surface provided the expected help.
