Simon Harmer credits relationship with coach for Proteas rebirth

Harmer found his best form in the Test arena for the Proteas’ tour of the sub-continent, which has earned him a nomination for the Test Player of the Year at the upcoming CSA Professional Awards. He says Conrad’s faith in him helped motivate a lot of those performances, and hopes to have repaid it in the best possible way.

"I feel like him and I have always had a very good relationship. Hopefully he says the same thing, but yeah, I think we're similar people. We enjoy being very sort of straightforward and honest, and I think I've always appreciated that about him," said Shukri

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"He's always been very straightforward and honest with me and where I fit in and how I fit in and if I fit in. So yeah, I've really appreciated how he's dealt with me, and I hope that the sort of performances that I've put in for him as a coach have sort of rewarded some of that faith."

The 37-year-old will contest the coveted accolade with Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, and Senuran Muthusamy next week Thursday in Sandton, and says he was pleasantly surprised to be named among such strong competition.

Harmer contributed 17 wickets in India last November to lead South Africa to a historic 2-0 win where he was also named Player of the Series. The Proteas had not won a Test match in India for 15 years before that, and had to go even further back in the year 2000 to find the last time they had claimed a series victory on Indian soil. He spoke of the significance of that performance for him personally and as a team.

Having made his debut in 2015, Harmer took a Kolpak deal in 2017 and was not eligible to play for South Africa. He says he learnt a lot in those years playing abroad, which he’s now benefitting from in his advanced age.