South African All-Rounder Marco Jansen Reflects on Past Failures and Newfound Confidence Ahead of T20 World Cup Semifinal
This ground has witnessed both his greatest triumphs and his most painful defeats. But the South African all-rounder returns here having added new weapons to his arsenal.
Kolkata. Marco Jansen's best and worst cricketing memories were forged in the same place: Kolkata, India.
The pleasant start occurred three months ago. At Eden Gardens, he learned something that he utilized to deliver a spectacular all-round performance in Guwahati. As a result, South Africa succeeded in winning a Test series in India for the first time in 25 years. This means that before Jansen himself made the team, there was no memory in his lifetime of the South African Test team winning in India.
His desire to learn and apply new things made him the leading fast bowler of that series and he played a significant role in the team's success. After South Africa confirmed its place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals, Jansen said in New Delhi, 'In the first Test match (in Kolkata), I watched Jasprit Bumrah. I watched the replay of his wicket and found there was a lot of spin coming off his hand. Then I tried to do the same as him.'
He added, 'I practiced it in the warm-up and felt some changes happening. The ball was moving rapidly after hitting the pitch. Then I tried the same in the game and quickly took two wickets. I stuck to that strategy and moved forward.'
In the first innings in Guwahati, he took 6 wickets for 48 runs. However, he achieved that success through the act that made him happiest: scoring runs. Jansen, who narrowly missed a century, helped South Africa reach a massive total of 489 runs with a 97-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Senuran Muthusamy.
More than his bowling, that batting innings completely changed his perception of how well he could perform in India. 'Before that, I didn't have belief. I didn't have much confidence. The only thing I had was mental strength and the will to go onto the field, score runs, and win the Test match for the team,' he says.
He had been working on this mental strength after the situation turned very bad in Kolkata in 2023. Jansen, who was bowling excellently in the powerplay of the ODI World Cup, was badly hit against India, and he does not want to run away from that reality.
He conceded 94 runs in 9.4 overs, bowling seven wides and one no-ball. Even while playing the semi-final at the same ground, he could not return to form. In that match against Australia, he conceded 35 runs in 4.2 overs without taking a wicket and was quickly removed from the bowling attack.
Seven months later, in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was ordinary for Jansen, he faced another bad dream at the most crucial time. In the final, he proved to be South Africa's most expensive bowler, conceding 49 runs in four overs. He says, 'My performance there was poor. Maybe I only bowled at 70 percent of my capability.'
South Africa is now on the verge of another semi-final, but Jansen claims he has completely transformed and possesses the intelligence to show it. 'In terms of skill, I am more confident now and I also have an extra slow ball. As for batting, I am clear on how to bat in the death overs. And mentally, I am very calm,' he said. 'Confidence, staying grounded, not thinking too far ahead—these are big things for me. Also, I have been able to control my fear and nervousness.'
Jansen has openly discussed his fear of the big stage in the past. Before the match against India in 2023, he mentioned reading the Bible to keep himself calm. Now he has added more practices to that.
'I am becoming more positive about myself. I am just trying to focus on the good things,' he said. 'I don't think much about what could go wrong. And even if I do think about it, I try to conclude it in a place where it has a positive impact. For example, in the previous match against the West Indies, I conceded 50 runs and took no wickets. But the end of the game was happy because we won. I have modified my mindset this way.'
His father, who showed him the mirror of reality when needed, sometimes in harsh words, has played an important role.
'First of all, I know my father loves me very much,' Jansen says. 'He only wants what is best for me. I also know that whatever he says, he says it out of love.'
'Mainly when he sits me down to talk, he only speaks facts. He says directly – you are not playing well, so you have to work hard. I don't know how you will fix this, but I believe in you and love you.'
'He always reminds me that he loves me, and that's enough for me. That's why I feel good. Whenever he reminds me, something good happens immediately. Not after two or three games, but right away.'
Father Koos is not with him in this T20 World Cup, but he is just a phone call away. Besides this, Jansen has many other options. He is a person who reads and listens a lot, and studies deeply the subjects that interest him, which also includes trying to understand himself better.
'I consider myself a traditionally minded man,' he says. 'As men, we nurture families, provide security, and this is in our nature. I believe in this.'
'I am not someone who acts based on emotion. I know talking to people is important—so I have one or two people to talk to. But I am not a very emotional person. I don't want to be unstable in my emotions. I want to control them; I want to control my mind and thoughts, and be able to make the right decisions when needed.'
This control over his mental state has also positively impacted his performance. A measure of his success, especially in T20, is his excellent performance in the SA20 league. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of that tournament and has always performed well in the finals.
This year, he took 3 wickets for 10 runs for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, restricting Pretoria Capitals to 158/7 and leading the team to victory. In the 2024 final, he took 5 wickets for 30 runs, which was the team's second title win.
His performance for that franchise has made him the spearhead of the team's bowling attack, and now he is beginning to play the same role for South Africa alongside Kagiso Rabada. Certainly, Jansen has no complaints about this.
'I want to consider myself a leader, but a quiet leader,' he says. 'What is important is that what I say, I do off the field, and my actions match my words. I don't want to be the person who says big, positive, and inspiring things in meetings or practice but is nowhere to be seen on the field. I prefer to speak less. First, I want to do my job and fulfill what I am there for on the field. If I get the opportunity or privilege to speak in a meeting, I will try to make good use of it.'
In this World Cup, he has proven his words, and he is South Africa's second and overall fifth-highest wicket-taker. His innovation ability has also been visible on the field: he has developed his own version of the knuckleball, which he calls a type of palm ball. The ball is held deep in the palm, concealing the finger joints. When he bowls it correctly, he says it is about 25 kilometers per hour slower than his normal ball.
'I always felt I needed to add a variation to my bowling. I always had an off-cutter, and I tried to bowl a leg-cutter, but it wasn't effective due to my action,' he says. 'So I tried bowling a knuckleball, and it went well, but because my hands and fingers are large, I felt the batters could clearly see and detect my knuckles. Then I tried bowling a palm ball by placing the ball in my palm. It went well, but it wasn't consistent. Now I am using a mix of both and practicing bowling it while concealing it from the batter as much as possible.'
This palm-knuckle hybrid ball was first seen in the series against England last September, where Jansen used it to dismiss Ben Duckett. Since then, he has also deceived Mark Chapman with this ball. As South Africa's next opponent is New Zealand, this ball is certain to be seen again. Jansen is fully confident in bowling this ball.
Coaches often urge players to show a bit more on the field because players are often overly humble. Jansen's newfound puffed-up confidence aligns perfectly with this. This is slowly changing. The South African team is now taking the tag of being contenders lightly, and Jansen is doing the same.
When asked what winning the white-ball World Cup would mean, he was ready to talk about the possibility and did not try to brush it off as some kind of curse. 'It will mean that our hard work, both collectively and individually, has paid off,' he says. 'It's like building a house, placing one brick on top of another.'
But this is not the complete structure. South African cricket feels it is far behind the country's most successful sport, Rugby. The Rugby team has won four World Cups, and the Cricket team wants to reach the same level.
'Everyone here knows there is no point in becoming a team or person who considers themselves invincible or superior to others,' Jansen says. 'That only leads to defeat.'
'If we win, it will be great. If we don't win, we will learn. We accept that and learn the lesson. But at the same time, we also know why we are playing. We are not just playing for ourselves and our families; we are playing for our supporters back home. We want to be part of something bigger. We want to be like the Springboks (South African Rugby team). '
Jansen says he can already see the impact of the World Test Championship win on the game, and another trophy will open the door to further success.
'It's no coincidence that after winning the Test series, in my opinion and in the games I've watched, local players are suddenly walking around with a different confidence,' he says. 'And they are playing well. I saw in this year's SA20 league that many local players were not just there for participation. They won matches. That's what we need.'
'If we do well here, the local and domestic cricket system will do well. If the domestic system is strong, it will be like Australia and India, where the standard of everything rises, and this will give us a better chance to win more trophies in the future.'
This specific news has been automatically translated by AI. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies or language errors.
