Harmer aims to keep Essex in spin for years
NEW Essex spinner Simon Harmer is aiming to spend the next ten years at Chelmsford after filling a gaping hole at the club.
Andy Flower cited Essex as one of the counties who cultivate pitches that exaggerate the qualities of ‘dibbly-dobbly’ medium pace bowlers to the detriment of spinners in English cricket.
The scrapping of the mandatory coin toss encouraged more balanced tracks last season but ironically Essex, without a frontline spinner, dominated all and sundry on their way to promotion from Division Two.
However a spinner, or lack thereof, remained a glaring weakness that would have likely been exploited in the top flight – and they have moved quickly by signing South Africa international Harmer on a one-year Kolpak deal.
Essex, once the home of Ray East and Peter Such, boast a proud tradition of spinners and Harmer is confident that his name will amount to more than a footnote before his time is up.
“I know they have needed a spinner and, hopefully, I can be the person who fulfils that role with them,” he said. “It’s only a one-year deal at the moment. I think their view is that they want to take a look at me and I’ve got to tick the right boxes.
“I want to commit my future to English cricket and that’s why I made the decision – I don’t think cricket for South Africa is what the future holds. Hopefully if I do well, I’ll have five or ten years in the county game and it would be great if they were at Essex – that’s my aim.”
The 27-year-old has taken 292 first-class wickets at 32.95, including seven on Test debut against the West Indies last year, but is willing to draw a line under his international ambitions after admitting the chance of a recall is slim.
“The South Africa cricket administration keep in little contact when you’re outside the teams, so when I fell out of favour they have not tried to get in touch,” added Harmer, who last played for the Proteas in India last November. “As far as I’m concerned, that door is closed and I’ve got a new opportunity here.”
Harmer, a teammate of Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram at the Warriors in South Africa, has also enjoyed three stints in English club cricket with the first at Milton Keynes-based side Stony Stratford in 2009.
“I watched county cricket with interest when I was over here, it was when the seed was first planted to become a county player,” Harmer said.
“With the amount of cricket that’s played in England, it can only be good for me as a spinner – you need to be bowling as many overs as possible.
“A fast bowler might need some time off between seasons to recover but I’ve never felt like there’s any need for me.
“I think the new toss rule is an exciting one for spinners.
“Pitches seem to have been a good deal drier early in the season and it’s going to be a good challenge.” Essex romped to the Division Two title without a regular front-line spinner. That’s not something they would get away with in the top tier of the County Championship and the signing of Harmer could be crucial. He brings international experience to Chelmsford and will be a strong head now Graham Napier and David Masters have hung up their spikes