Simon Harmer spins his way to milestone of 1,000 first-class wickets

This remarkable achievement may never be repeated, with the Proteas spinner likely to be the last South African to reach it. By Keanan Hemmonsbey

- Keanan Hemmonsbey

Simon Harmer became only the fourth South African ever to reach 1,000 first-class wickets, against Pakistan last week. Harmer delivered a full ball with guile and just enough drift from around the wicket to Pakistan’s Noman Ali. It gripped off the abrasive Rawalpindi surface and caught a faint edge of the forward-prodding Ali before the red cherry was snagged behind by wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.

Harmer is only the fourth South African player to claim 1,000 wickets in first-class cricket. Charlie Llewellyn (1,013), Mike Procter (1,417) and Allan Donald (1,216) were the ones to reach the milestone before him.

England’s Wilfred Rhodes holds the record for the most first-class wickets — a scarcely believable figure of 4,204.

Rhodes played 1,110 matches, spanning 32 years between 1898 and 1930. It was a career and wicket tally that was made possible during the time it was played. He played no other format of the game because no other format existed at the time.

Harmer, conversely, reached the 1,000 wicket tally despite the time period he is playing in. The 36-year-old off-spinner made his first-class debut in 2009, a period during which limited-overs and T20 cricket boomed. They have continued to proliferate, and the global switch in focus to white-ball cricket has meant that fewer first-class matches are being played, with the calendar being filled with franchise leagues instead.

Right time