Cricket News: Marco Jansen - 6ft 8in South African, making an impact
The Proteas left-arm seamer, entitled the find of the summer in the later year of 2021, made to lines with his tall height and impressive pace bowling. Left-arm pacers are already one of the most coveted types of bowlers in the game of cricket, and the height that Marco Jansen carries adds a specific factor to his bowling style
Marco Jansen 6ft 8in South African, making an impactThough height should not be a factor or point of discussion, a left-handed seamer with an unprecedented height is a rare breed to ignore. He was a name unknown before he made his first appearance for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 and impressed everyone with his ability to yield bounce on dead pitches.
“He’s two meters tall and delivers the ball at pace from height. What caught my eye is his accuracy. He could sustain his pace for a long time,” said Robin Petersen.
After the short and impactful career of South African pacer Brett Schultz in the 90s, Marco Jansen is seen as the next him with the quality he adds to his team. The first ball of his international career was a pure glimpse of Australian left-arm seamer Bruce Reid, with no massive jump delivery and digging the extra bounce from the pitch. Though currently, he bowls in the range of 130 to 140kmph, he aims to touch 145 kmph soon.
His swinging capabilities, ability to generate extra bounce combined with his tall height, and angles combined with his pace make him a notable pace bowler. His capabilities have strengthened the pace-attack of Proteas beyond Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje.
The 6ft 8 giant debuted at home in the test series against India following his impressive stint in IPL. He has helped Proteas scalp 28 wickets in 5 test matches at an average of 20.35 and an economy rate of 3.19. Apart from the stunning bowling figures, the bowler comes in as a handy batsman down the order. In the 5 test matches, he accumulated 118 runs at a strike rate of 47.38.
His recent performance at Lords against England Lions with the bat amazed the selectors. The 22-year-old, whose primary role is as a bowler, smashed three boundaries and five maximums in his innings.
Marco Jansen said, “I don’t just want to be a bowling all-rounder, I want to become an all-around all-rounder if that makes sense. I’m putting in so much hard work on my batting because I absolutely love to bat.”
Given the talent, he carries as a bowler, if he continues to learn and improve, keeping his physique requirements owing to his huge height, he can become the much-needed all-rounder for South Africa.