Off-spinner Simon Harmer ended a more than six-year absence by taking four wickets and giving South Africa the lead on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead on Friday. Bangladesh was 98 for four at the end in response to South Africa’s 367. Harmer took four for 42 in 20 overs. Harmer, 32, hadn’t played in a test match since November 2015. He signed a Kolpak contract with the English province of Essex in 2017, which made him ineligible to play for South Africa before the system ended in 2020.
Now classified as an overseas player for the county and once again available for his country, Harmer took 491 first-class wickets during his time away from international cricket.
Harmer made the first breakthrough in the latter for tea when he threw Shadman Islam for nine with the third ball of his second over.
He ended a 55-run tie between Mahmudul Hasan and Najmul Hossain by bowling Najmul for 38 with a superb ball that drifted in and spun past the bat.
Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque fell without scoring in Harmer’s next over, caught on a stupid point by a diving Keegan Petersen.
The veteran Mushfiqur Rahim was Harmer’s fourth wicket, passing a ball down the leg to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.
Mahmudal, who played in his third Test, survived to the end and scored 44 not out.
Temba Bavuma scored the highest score for South Africa with 93, while fast bowler Khaled Ahmed scored four for 92 for Bangladesh.
Khaled had taken just one wicket — that of Pakistan captain Babar Azam — in his previous three Test matches.
Bavuma’s long wait for a second Test century continued. He made 102 not out against England in Cape Town in January 2016 in his seventh Test match.
He is currently making his 50th appearance and has scored 18 half-centuries without adding another three-figure score.
Bavuma hit a rough patch for South Africa on Friday when Bangladesh bowled well with the second new ball on a pitch that appeared to be faster since day one.
Khaled made a double blow, as a result of which Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder were fired on successive deliveries.
South Africa were 245 for six, with just 12 runs to their overnight total, but Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj added 53 runs for the seventh wicket as Bavuma got closer to 100.
But Bavuma tried a cut against off-spinner Mehidy Hasan. The ball turned sharply and hit Bavuma’s path into the stumps. He had faced 190 balls and hit 12 fours.
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Maharaj was bowled by Ebadot Hossain from the next ball, but Harmer didn’t knock out 38 as the last two wickets yielded 67 runs.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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