South Africa's 6ft 8in left-armer is setting the benchmark for Test all-rounders, and the sport's biggest powers are scrambling to find their own version.
South Africa has a rare weapon in Marco Jansen, and the cricket world is taking notice. England and Australia are both searching for an all-rounder who can match what the Proteas have in their towering left-armer.
Imagine building a cricketer from scratch. You would start with height, long levers and a whippy action that makes the ball leap off a length. Add pace, movement in both directions and the left-arm angle that bowlers love to have. With the bat, you would want a player who can clear the ropes but also slow the game down when a collapse is under way. Finish him off with safe hands in the slips and the deep. That blueprint looks a lot like Jansen.
Going into the third Test, the 6ft 8in Jansen had 99 Test wickets at 20.81, numbers that mark him out as a front-line strike bowler. His 85 against Australia at Gqeberha showed the other side of his game. South Africa were wobbling at 110 for six when he hit back with an aggressive counterattack that swung the match and set up an innings victory.
His batting is still a work in progress, and his average of 25.66 before this Test undersells what he can do with the bat. As he grows into the role, South Africa have a player who can change a game with either skill. Elite all-rounders are hard to come by, and the Proteas have one in their ranks while their biggest rivals are still looking.
