A bundle of nerves in a lanky frame

When they stepped onto the field in St Vincent last week to face Nepal, South Africa had already qualified for the Super Eights at this year’s T20 World Cup. Yet Marco Jansen was more anxious about that final group game than he’d been about the three that preceded it in New York. 

“When we sang the anthems, I was very, very nervous,” Jansen said. The 24-year-old has openly embraced this part of his personality. He has talked about it previously, but his management of the tension that envelops him at various moments is something he’s still learning about. 

“It’s different, sometimes I feel I need to speak to someone and other times I feel that even though I am nervous, I am calm. Sometimes when I’m nervous, I get jittery, then I will call my dad or my brother, whereas other times I’m nervous, but I feel confident, it’s just a feeling thing. 

“I assume that the nerves I feel are me caring about what I do,” said Jansen. 

The effect on his performances have been minimal at this World Cup, but at the ODI tournament in India last year they were glaringly obvious, especially in the Proteas round-robin match against the host nation in Kolkata. 

In that match, Jansen conceded 94 runs in 9.4 overs, bowling seven wides and a no ball. He seemed to carry that performance with him into the semifinal SA lost to Australia. At this year’s T20 World Cup, Jansen seemed to be “hiding” his nerves better when it comes to match situations. 

It helped his cause that he had Aiden Markram as captain, a player he is familiar with from the time the pair spent together at the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20. “He calms me down a lot,” Jansen reveals.

Much of that is through reassurance. Along with the nerves, Jansen said he is often wracked with self-doubt. That can manifest itself in having an idea on the field, but not sharing it. “If I keep things to myself, I tend to doubt my decisions. Then when I think about it afterwards, I’m always asking why didn’t I say anything. 

“If I bounce that (idea) off someone and we make the decision together and it doesn’t work out, then having the person come to me and go ‘chom, the idea was perfect, we just didn’t execute, or the guy played a really good shot’, or whatever the case may be.”

Markram encourages the players to share their thoughts, something that puts Jansen at ease. “I ask what he thinks, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know what to do, I just need him to give his opinion, and then we have two ideas and we can choose what will be the best option.”

Jansen hasn’t yet had the kind of defining moment in a match that Keshav Maharaj, David Miller or Kagiso Rabada have had in the competition, but it doesn’t devalue his importance. He’s bowled the majority of his overs in the power play, and while he’s not taken the number of wickets he’d have liked, the tone he sets has been crucial for his fellow bowlers.

“I know I have the first over, if that goes well I get a second and maybe even a third, depending on the conditions and the skipper’s thoughts. That makes it easier to structure my plans.”

Jansen has yet to play 50 international matches, so the sense that he’s got more to explore with this talent is enticing. Test cricket, even with the limited schedule SA has in that format, remains crucial to him.

“I wish we could play 10 Tests a year, unfortunately the schedule doesn’t allow that. We have six this year, whereas other teams like England and Australia play at least 10. I wish we could play more, I enjoy it, even though it is tough, physically and mentally. I will be available for all those Tests this year. For now we are just focusing on the World Cup.”