Duan Jansen takes twin brother Marco’s advice to star for Titans in cup triumph

The message from Duan Jansen’s twin brother Marco before Sunday’s One-Day Cup final was simple: “He just told me to back myself, to enjoy playing in a final and to have courage.”

Duan certainly followed that advice, taking 1/53 then scoring a match-winning, unbeaten 61 as the Titans beat their neighbours the Lions by three wickets, reaching a target of 249 with two balls to spare.

Marco is in India preparing to play in the IPL for Punjab Kings, and chatted to Duan on Saturday. “He said to me that it doesn’t help to come to the final, and you are ‘kak bang’, because then what is the point of the hard work you’ve put in throughout the season to get here? Be courageous, take the brave option and knuckle down. He did say that he knew I would do well.”

“We don’t talk a lot, but I will ask for advice especially about players he would have faced and some strategy and thinking around bowling to them.”

Duan Jansen was instrumental in Sunday’s success, which came at the end of an excellent individual season, even amid the Titans’ struggles earlier in the summer when they briefly flirted with relegation.

“It was very difficult,” Jansen said of a season in which the Titans lost their first four matches in the Four-Day Series and then battled in the T20 Challenge, winning only two matches.

“Personally, as a new guy, I had expectations for myself, and I wanted to impress my teammates, the management and the coaching staff. Luckily I started well and the momentum just flowed.”

“It was easier for me than for some of the other guys, but I think what we learned through that was that even though it was difficult, we need to pull together in the tough times and not scatter, where each one is only looking after themselves.

“We had to get through this to find our culture. The only way we are going to win trophies is by sticking together and that showed today.”

Sunday’s final ― which has since been overshadowed by the abrupt departure of Lions all-rounder Beyers Swanepoel while the match was still in progress ― was a rollercoaster affair. Jansen had bowled a superb opening spell but failed to take a wicket. He returned later in the innings and dismissed Richard Seletswane, helping to restrict the Lions to 248/9.

A disastrous start with the bat, in which they lost both openers before a run had been scored and then senior batter Neil Brand, left them 18/3 in the seventh over.

“Any team would feel like you’ve been knocked in the face [at that stage],” said Jansen.

“For [Keegan Petersen and Keagan Lion-Cachet] to scrap together a partnership was amazing, and it showed the rest of us that if you put in the work, it wasn’t that difficult to bat for a long time.”

Petersen and Lion-Cachet added 59 runs in 11 overs for the fourth wicket, to regain the initiative for the visitors, but they were still in trouble when Jansen arrived at the crease in the 28th over to join Petersen, needing 128 runs to win.

“We saw in their innings that batters 8, 9 and 10 got 70 runs in the last 10 overs, so we knew it was possible, and it was just important that we had at least one set batter and we could take the game deep,” said Jansen.

He and Petersen shared a partnership of 78 for the sixth wicket that ended when Petersen was caught at short third man by Temba Bavuma for 90.

Jansen, however, kept playing freely, with a six off Codi Yusuf in the penultimate over, settling his teammates’ nerves.

“Moving from the Dragons to the Titans, the standard is the standard. I was raised like that. When I got the opportunity it was important to knuckle down and show that yes, I could play at this level and perform. I want to stay at the Titans, I want to win trophies here. [Head coach Rivash Gobind], [assistant] Albie Morkel, they set the standard and they were not going to drop that. It’s one thing that I thrived on, because that’s how I grew up with my dad and my brother. It comes naturally to me.”

Jansen had an excellent season for the Titans since moving ― along with his brother ― to the Centurion-based union, after North West didn’t offer him a contract at the end of the 2024/25 summer.

He picked up 24 wickets in four Four-Day Series matches; six wickets in the T20 Challenge; and in addition to 16 wickets in the One-Day Cup, scored 186 runs, which included the unbeaten half-century in the final.

“I can’t speak highly enough about what he has contributed as an individual in our turnaround this season,” said Gobind.