Simon Harmer looking forward to another successful Test season

The reigning world champions will play eight home Test matches from October to January, as the current World Test Championship takes shape. South Africa has had to face a lengthy wait to get back into their whites, having last played the longest format of the game in an impressive 2-0 series win away in India in November.

"Yeah, I think the summer is coming up –  there is a lot of Test cricket being played now around the world, and you're sort of looking around and itching to get going. The reality is, between October and February, we're going to sort of know where we stand in terms of the World Test Championship. We've got 10 Test matches, eight of them being at home, which doesn't happen that often, so I'm very excited about that," said Harmer.

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The Proteas take on Australia – whom they beat in the WTC final of just over a year ago in London – in three Test matches from October 9 to 31. They will then welcome Bangladesh in two matches in November, before concluding their home Test summer with another three major clashes against England – including the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests.

While Harmer had a lot of success in the sub-continent last year due to their turning wickets, it’s not always the case on South African pitches. He believes there’s mostly a case to be made for the inclusion of a spin bowler in non-sub-continent countries, and explained why.