Marco Jansen steps into leadership role for South Africa

Stepping Up in the Absence of Experience

The home side enters the summer schedule missing its two most experienced seam bowlers. Kagiso Rabada recovers from a hamstring injury holding 258 international matches of experience, while Lungi Ngidi sits out with a similar issue after 159 appearances. Ottneil Baartman is also sidelined due to a third hamstring problem, according to team reports. This defensive vacuum leaves Marco Jansen as the next most capped seamer in the squad.

Jansen enters the assignment having played 32 One Day Internationals, alongside 30 T20Is and 21 Tests. Speaking from Durban ahead of the opening fixture, Jansen admitted the shift in dynamic. “It feels like I’m going to have to take that leadership role,” Jansen said. “I have to try and lead from the front. It’s probably going to be my first time taking up such a role so I’m quite excited for that. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do if put in such a role.”

The Philosophy of Slowing the Game Down

Rather than adopting an aggressive or hyper-directive style on the field, Jansen plans to model his captaincy framework on the composure shown by Rabada and Ngidi during high-pressure phases. His primary objective centers on psychological stabilization during difficult overs.

“Leadership, and I’m only basing it off of playing with KG and Lungi and all those guys, is that when things go sideways or when things are tough, especially in the field, you have to have a way of calming things down and slowing things down,” Jansen explained. “That’s probably what I’ll be trying to do.”

Detailing his approach to death-over pressure, Jansen noted the psychological needs of bowlers under fire. “The last thing you want when you’re struggling in an over or at the death and guys are flying, is someone just giving solutions and saying, do this or that. It’s important to realise and to pick the moments where a bowler needs a bit of time to try and slow things down and just ask one or two simple questions like, ‘What’s the plan here or how are we getting this guy off strike?’ Just try to slow the game down or slow the momentum down.”

Heavy Workloads and Domestic Recovery

Jansen arrives at the international series following a relentless domestic and global calendar. Though South Africa’s international schedule earlier in the year focused heavily on T20Is—including appearances in the home series against the West Indies and the T20 World Cup—Jansen has logged 44 matches in 2026 across the Indian Premier League, Major League Cricket, and The Hundred. That total sits just four games shy of his busiest years from 2023 through 2025, when he featured in 48 matches per year.

His preparation for the current home summer was disrupted by an illness requiring a course of antibiotics lasting a week and a half to two weeks, limiting his red-ball preparation to just three days before his first-class return. Despite feeling undercooked initially, Jansen anchored the Titans to a victory over the Dolphins in Centurion last weekend, claiming a seven-wicket haul and bowling 26 overs—the most of any player in the match.

“My build-up to that four-day game or first-class game didn’t go as planned. I planned to bowl at least like three or two weeks before and then unfortunately got sick,” Jansen noted. “I was on antibiotics for a week-and-a-half or two weeks so that sort of cut my preparation short. Before that four-day game, I only had three days of prep and felt heavily undercooked. But, in the match, I felt good. My timing felt good. My body felt good.”

Potential for a Rare Family Partnership

The squad changes have also opened the door for Marco’s twin brother, Duan Jansen, who earned a call-up to the ODI squad following Baartman’s withdrawal. Duan made an impressive debut during a three-match series in Namibia, finishing as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker.

While the presence of left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka makes selecting all three left-arm options simultaneously a tactical challenge, the possibility of the twins appearing together remains an open topic. At the senior level, the Jansens have only played two matches together, both coming in 2014 for North West in the CSA T20 Challenge in Potchefstroom.

The third ODI takes place in Potchefstroom, marking a homecoming for the brothers who grew up and attended high school nearby. “To play any game for the Proteas together would be special. But I think if it were to happen in Potch, that’ll be even more special. We grew up near Potch and obviously went to high school in Potch. If it pans out like that, it’ll be awesome,” Marco said.