Duan Jansen’s first Proteas call-up is the reward for a remarkable turnaround that began when the all-rounder changed environments, rebuilt his confidence and learnt to trust a process that had not always produced immediate results.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough 12 months, moving from North West to the Titans, signing for the Joburg Super Kings and impressing with Gloucestershire before earning his place in South Africa’s squad for the T20 International Tri-series in Namibia.
But the biggest change was not necessarily technical, the twin brother of Proteas stalwart Marco Jansen told an online media conference on Tuesday morning, ahead of Friday’s opener against the hosts in Windhoek.
“It made a big difference for me, more mentally than skill-wise,” Jansen said of his move to the Titans.
Finding a way through difficult times
After two difficult years with the Dragons, disrupted by injuries, Jansen found himself in a very different mental space. The challenge was to keep working when the rewards were not obvious.
“The most difficult part for me was to wake up every morning and go and say, ‘OK, I have to do this to improve,’” he said. “It didn’t feel like I was improving, even though I put in the hard work.”
Jansen sought help from psychologists and leaned heavily on his family, especially Marco, while his faith became another important part of his journey. He said he believed he had a purpose in cricket and that God had placed him where he was for a reason. Looking back now, he can see the value of the patience that period demanded.
“Spiritual-wise it made me stronger and made me more patient,” he said.
The move to the Titans also gave Jansen the chance to develop a clearer plan for his cricket. He worked on specific approaches to bowling and batting in different situations and took those plans with him to England, where his performances reinforced his belief that he had found a “winning recipe”.
When the pieces finally clicked
The next breakthrough came with the bat. While his bowling was already producing results, Jansen wanted to add greater consistency in the lower order. During the latter stages of the One-Day Cup, he felt he finally understood how to assess situations and deal with pressure.
“It clicked for me, how to approach a certain situation and deal with that pressure,” he said. “Just to get deeper and deeper, and in the final it paid off.”
That process ultimately led to the phone call he had spent years waiting for. Jansen received the news of his Proteas selection two weeks ago, and the significance of the moment was not lost on him.
“When I got that call, to be honest, I cried a little bit,” he said. “For me personally, it means a lot, because it just shows you, even though it gets tough, keep doing your job, go to training, do the hard stuff that you don’t want to do. It can pay off at one stage.”
Jansen knows the call-up is only the beginning. He believes there are still areas of his game to improve, particularly with his new-ball bowling, but is determined not to overcomplicate matters by trying to reinvent himself for international cricket. Instead, he wants to continue refining the methods that have taken him this far.
“One thing I’ve realised is I’ve done something specific that, obviously, when I go on different tours, it works. So to come here and just do the same and add on to those skills that I have, that’s going to be important,” he said.
After a period when the hard work seemed to be producing little reward, Jansen finally has something tangible to show for it. His Proteas journey can now begin.
