AUSTRALIA TOUR OF SA
John Goliath|Published
Proteas spinner Simon Harmer admits that bouncing back from a chastening defeat at the hands of Australia in Durban to level the series at Gqeberha's St George’s Park was a testament to the quiet resilience burning within the squad.
After falling behind early in the two-match series, South Africa found themselves searching for answers following an opening Test where they felt they had let themselves down by letting the Aussies off the hook at Kingsmead.
For Harmer, the frustration stemmed not merely from defeat, but from failing to twist the proverbial knife when they had Australia on the ropes towards the end of the first day’s play in the first Test.
They then allowed Australia to dominate with the ball after a poor batting display, lacking the fundamentals and discipline that have made them such a dangerous Test outfit over the last few years.
When the squad sat down to dissect what went wrong, the realisation was stark: the Proteas had been their own worst enemies in the opening Test.
"I think realistically, we knew that we weren't at the level that we wanted to be," Harmer admits. "I can remember standing on the field and looking up at the scoreboard and seeing the boys that were on the field and being like, 'Geez, this is a proper team.'
"I think everybody felt like we let ourselves down. If you look at the dismissals of that first innings, it was quite evident that there weren't a lot of good balls that got us out, that we sort of managed to find ways to get out."
That prompted a collective recalibration ahead of the Gqeberha clash. Rather than panicking, the team refocused on simplicity, discipline, and backing each other.
"If you lose against a world-class team, and you can sit back and be like, 'Boys, we were outplayed,' you can rest easy and be like, 'You know what, we're going to turn up the next game,'" Harmer reflects.
"But there was a lot of motivation and fire burning in the belly of a lot of the boys that we didn't put our best foot forward and that we lost not on our terms."
The response in Gqeberha was emphatic. Spearheaded by captain Temba Bavuma’s magnificent first-innings 179 and Marco Jansen’s devastating all-round masterclass, the Proteas turned the pressure back onto the tourists, exposing vulnerabilities in an Australian line-up that many had treated as invincible before the match.
"I think the most frustrating thing in Durban for us was knowing that there were a couple of guys that had come in either back into the Test team or out of position, and we weren't able to exploit that," Harmer says.
"So to be able to do that in PE, to put the pressure back onto them... and then to realise that actually they are human. If we bowl well and put them under pressure, there's the possibility that you can get on top of them. It was really nice to turn it around."
For Harmer, who chipped in with a crucial maiden Test half-century of his own, the victory highlighted the hallmark of a maturing team.
Rather than relying on individual superstardom, a throwback to bygone eras where the side leaned heavily on a few senior icons, this current Proteas generation thrives on collective responsibility.
"When I first made my debut for South Africa in 2015, there were a lot of players that had the ability to single-handedly win games," Harmer says.
"Now, I just feel like we've got a bunch of guys where it's always different people putting their hands up. We're not relying on one person. We're not reliant on if Aiden doesn't score runs, then we're in trouble, or if KG doesn't take wickets, we're in trouble.
"Even the way Wiaan [Mulder] bowled today, he really broke it open for us. It's a hallmark of a really good team."