Simon Ross Harmer (born 10 February 1989) is a South African international cricketer. He plays for South Africa primarily as an off-break bowler but is also a capable lower order batsman. He plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Titans,and in England for Essex.
Harmer debuted for Warriors in the 2010–2011 first class season against the Cape Cobras claiming 5/98 in the first innings and 1/53 in the second innings to go along with his 46 and 69 runs with the bat.[1] He became a regular fixture in Warriors side in the 2011–2012 side,ending the season as leading wicket taker in his full rookie season,claiming 44 wickets.[2]
In April 2021,Harmer was named in Northerns' squad,ahead of the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa.[7]
England
Ahead of the 2017 season,Harmer signed for Essex County Cricket Club as a Kolpak player.[8] In June,in the 2017 County Championship,Harmer took 9 wickets for 95 runs in the second innings against Middlesex.[9][10] He was the first bowler for Essex to take nine wickets in an innings since Mark Ilott in 1995,and he finished with career-best match figures of 14 for 172.[11]
Harmer continued his form and took the wicket which confirmed Essex as Champions in the win against Warwickshire. Harmer finished the 2017 season with the second-highest haul in the Country in terms of wickets taken,with 72 wickets at 19.19. Although neither he,nor his team,hit the same heights in 2018,he still managed 57 wickets at 24.45 each and provided useful runs batting at number eight in the batting order.[12]
Harmer bowling for Essex in 2017
In September 2019,Harmer captained Essex County Cricket Club to their first ever T20 Blast victory against the Worcestershire County Cricket Club after taking 7 wickets across both the semi-final and final on Finals Day,the most by any bowler on a T20 English Domestic Finals Day. In April 2020 he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year for his T20 and Championship performances for Essex in the 2019 season in the 2020 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[13]
In 2019 Harmer expressed a desire to play for the England national team,but due to a variety of immigration regulation changes in the wake of Brexit in 2020,this proved impossible and he abandoned the idea in 2021.[14]
International career
Consistent displays at the domestic level earned him a call up for the 3rd Test against West Indies in 2014/15,[15] where he made his Test match debut for South Africa against the West Indies on 2 January 2015 at Newlands,Cape Town.[16] He took his debut Test wicket by bowling Devon Smith in the last over before the lunch break on day one[16] and ended the innings with figures of 3/71 from 26 overs.[17]
In January 2022,Harmer was named in the 17-man South Africa Test squad for their tour of New Zealand.
In April 2022,Harmer made his first appearance for the Proteas Test side in six and a half years against Bangladesh. He and Keshav Maharaj were instrumental in helping defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in the 2 test series,taking 13 wickets.
In November 2025,in the first Test of the South African tour of India,Harmer was declared Player of the Match for his spell of 4/30 &4/21. While faster bowlers applied the initial pressure,Harmer’s control,drift and accuracy were instrumental in preventing India from building a sustained counter-attack in a lower-scoring match.[18] South Africa secured their first Test victory on Indian soil since 2010.[19] In the second and final Test of the series,which South Africa won to complete a 2–0 clean sweep,Harmer took six wickets and was noted for outperforming the Indian spinners in home conditions. His performance contributed to India’s heaviest defeat in men’s Test cricket (by 408 runs) and their second home whitewash in three series. The victory marked South Africa’s first Test series win in India in 25 years. Harmer was named Player of the Series for his 17 wickets,and he also became the South African with the most Test wickets in India,with 27 in 4 matches at an average of 15,surpassing Dale Steyn’s tally of 26 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 21.[20]
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