Tale of the tall and fast Marco Jansen of the 4 wicket haul at Wanderers fame

Marco Jansen‘s height of 6 feet 8 inches metres clearly distinguishes him as a quick bowler. At Wanderers, it was a career best performance of a 4 wicket haul that placed him in the limelight. 

The 21-year old pacer bowled an extremely economical spell for South Africa, dispensing only 31 runs of the 17 overs that he bowled during the first innings of the second Test match against India at Johannesburg.

Also read: Wanderers Test: SA 35/1, trail India by 167 runs as pacer shine on Day One

Anrich Nortje’s hip injury came as a blessing in disguise for Jansen as he was handed the ODI cap, after his international Test debut against the visitors at Centurion. Jansen had a strong debut against India, capturing 5 wickets in two innings in Centurion.

In the first and second innings, Jansen had numbers of 1/69 and 4/55, respectively.

Jansen’s five wickets in the match put him among a select group of South African bowlers who have taken five or more wickets in their first Test match.

Also read: India’s Wanderers fortress falls, bundled out for 202; Jansen picks up 4 wickets

With his five-wicket haul in the Test, Jansen joined a legendary line of Proteas bowlers who have achieved such feats on their debut, including Alan Donald, Lance Klusener, and Vernon Philander, among others.

He began his cricket career as a batter. Jansen’s first instructor was his father, Koos, who brought him and his twin brother Duan to Potchefstroom to train. At the age of 17, the pair were selected to bowl in the nets for the visiting Indian team and wowed Virat Kohli with his pace and accuracy.

Also read: India vs South Africa – Shardul Thakur gone for duck; Visitors face trouble with 162/7 right after Tea

Jansen went on to play for South Africa’s Under-19 team in India in 2019 and was the leading wicket-taker for North West in the three-day provincial championship that year. In early 2021, he travelled to Pakistan with the South African Test squad and was signed by the Mumbai Indians for the IPL. Jansen made his Test debut against India on Boxing Day in 2021, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to play for his country.

Jansen made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in the first match of the 2021 season. Jansen looked impressive even if he didn’t play the remainder of the season.