T20 ties have softened on-field rivalries, says Harmer
Cricket – Second Test – South Africa v West Indies – Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa – March 9, 2023 South Africa’s Simon harmer in action REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
DURBAN, Oct 7 : South Africa spinner Simon Harmer expects none of the animosity of Australia’s last test tour to South Africa to resurface in the three-match series between the two countries, which gets underway at Kingsmead on Friday.
Australia are playing their first test series in South Africa since the 2018 “Sandpapergate” scandal, when the tourists used sandpaper to illegally alter the condition of the ball in a bid to gain more swing, resulting in bans for captain Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
The scandal followed a series of ugly confrontations, including off-field fighting and on-field jostling between the two teams in a sport that prides itself on its etiquette.
Harmer believes the growth of Twenty20 franchise cricket, where international rivals regularly become teammates, has taken some of the sting out of such contests.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
“I expect Australia to come out firing and being competitive, but I think the nature of T20 cricket is such that you’re playing with a lot of players, a lot of the time,” he told a press conference on Wednesday.
“Gone are the days where you had these huge rivalries, where you would play against one another every 18 to 24 months, and it created that sort of argy bargy on the field.
“I think T20 has softened that a little bit but I don’t expect Australia to be soft by any stretch of the imagination.”
The 37-year-old Harmer, expected to be one of two spinners South Africa will use in the first test, said Australia were always extremely competitive and the series in South Africa would be closely fought.
“They fight to the death; their lower order always seems to score a lot of runs with a never-say-die attitude. I think it is quite a similar trait to South Africans. We’re resilient, and we probably do our best when our backs are up against the wall.
“I think that was there for the world to see in the World Test Championship final,” Harmer said of last year’s clash at Lord’s where South Africa beat Australia by five wickets.
“I think it was almost a foregone conclusion that Australia were going to win that game, but our team found a way to get through it and to get the win.”
Source: Reuters
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
