Marco Jansen’s expanding role within the Proteas bowling unit will not feature screaming field adjustments or a forced imitation of the injured Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.
The left-arm quick is redefining leadership through the art of the pause.
Keeping a young attack steady against Australia means mastering situational awareness — knowing exactly when to slow the game down under pressure so his bowlers can execute their pre-match plans.
The sides clash in the first of three One Day Internationals at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday, with the Proteas using the series as another opportunity to test themselves against top opposition in the lead-up to the 2027 50-over World Cup on home soil.
With Ottneil Baartman also unavailable, Jansen, 26, is one of the more experienced members of a young attack alongside Gerald Coetzee and Corbin Bosch, as well as spinners Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin and part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram.
“When things go sideways or when things are tough, especially in the field, they [Rabada and Ngidi] have a way of calming things down and slowing things down,” Jansen said.
“That’s what I’ll be trying to do, because the last thing you want when you’re struggling in an over or at the death, and the guys [opposition] are flying, is someone just giving solutions and just saying do this, do that [without context].”
Leadership meant recognising when a bowler needed support, the Titans all-rounder said.
“I think it’s important to realise and to pick up the moments where a bowler probably needs a bit of time to try and slow things down, and just ask one or two simple questions, probably what’s the plan here, or how are we going to get this guy out,” he said.
The work of setting plans for different batters and thinking up different field placings or specific deliveries was done before match day, Jansen said.
“We know what plans we have set, we know what balls we want to bowl, we know what fields we want to set,” Jansen said.
“On game day, it’s all about how to get the guys in a position or in a space of mind where they can go out, they can execute their game plans and just express themselves.”
That approach will be tested against an Australian side Jansen expects to bring its own intensity from the opening delivery.
For the Proteas, the answer is not necessarily to counter that aggression, but to match it.
“If you back down or you shy away, then it’s very easy for them to get the better of you, or even get further ahead in the game,” he said.
Jansen knows execution ultimately remains decisive.
“You can have a certain body language, whatever the case may be, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the skills on the day and who executes whatever they want to do the best.”
The prospect of running out in national colours alongside his brother, Duan, would make the Australian tour even more special for Jansen, particularly if the opportunity came in the third ODI in Potchefstroom, where they grew up and spent much of their early years developing their skillsets.
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