For much of his international debut at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek on Friday, Duan Jansen would have been left wondering whether the wait for his South Africa cap was worth it.
The 26-year-old left-arm pacer endured a difficult start, conceding 18 runs in his first two overs. Jan Frylinck struck him for two boundaries, while Louren Steenkamp added two more in the same over. To make matters worse, Jordan Hermann dropped Frylinck at mid-off, adding to Jansen’s early frustration.
After waiting so long for his opportunity, it was hardly the dream beginning Jansen would have imagined. The occasion carried extra significance given that his younger twin brother, Marco Jansen, had already established himself as an international cricketer after making his South Africa debut in 2021.
The Jansen brothers are almost identical in appearance and share the same left-arm pace-bowling style, but Duan had a difficult task on his hands to match his brother’s impressive international start.
Marco had also conceded three boundaries in his first over of Test cricket against India at Centurion in December 2021. However, he bounced back brilliantly in the second innings, taking four wickets, including those of Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.
Duan’s fightback was less immediate.
He returned for his third over in the 14th and conceded seven runs before coming back for his final over. Alex Busing-Volschenk edged his first delivery for four, and Jansen then bowled a wide with his next ball. At that stage, he had conceded 29 runs from 19 deliveries.
However, the young pacer finally found his rhythm at the death.
Ruben Trumpelmann was trapped in front with the third ball of Jansen’s final over before Bernard Scholtz backed away from the next delivery, only to see his off and middle stumps knocked back. Jansen finished with figures of 2/32, giving himself something to remember from an otherwise challenging debut.
He also made a useful contribution with the bat during South Africa’s chase.
Coming in at 86/5, with South Africa needing 78 from 40 balls, Jansen took his time before finding his first boundary. He punched Jack Brassell through the covers and then collected seven runs from his next six deliveries.
With the required rate climbing, Jansen eventually took on JJ Smit and launched him over long-on for a six. By then, however, South Africa needed 26 from five balls, leaving little room for a comeback.
Jansen finished unbeaten on 25 off 17 balls, but his contribution was overshadowed by another memorable performance from Namibia.
The hosts once again defeated South Africa at home, repeating their historic victory from October last year — the first time the two sides had met in any format.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus summed up the significance of the win after the match.
“It shows we belong and that [last year’s win] wasn’t a once-off. We’ve shown on home turf that we can be a consistent team and compete with the best.”
For Jansen, the debut offered a glimpse of what he can bring to South Africa, even if the evening did not go entirely according to plan. His 2/32 with the ball and unbeaten 25 with the bat showed resilience, but he will hope for a stronger team performance when South Africa face Zimbabwe on Saturday.
After all, it can hardly get much worse for the Proteas.
