Ponting reveals Marco Jansen’s cricketing superpower
Having coached Marco Jansen in the IPL, ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has seen first-hand why the South African is delivering on cricket’s biggest stages.
Marco Jansen is one of cricket’s tallest players, but his talent stands out in equal doses.
As has been highlighted, he starred early for the Proteas, forming a formidable fast bowling tandem with Kagiso Rabada that wreaked all kinds of havoc on Australia’s top order in the World Test Championship Final’s first day.
It was Rabada that claimed more of the plaudits with yet another five-wicket haul at Lord’s, but Jansen’s bowling was equally as impressive. The left-armer finished with 3/49 from 14 overs and his scalps included Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head.
A finger injury while fielding on day two threatened to curtail his day, though a return to the bowling crease soon after proved he was unimpeded, removing Marnus Labuschagne for 22.
Marco Jansen gets the big wicket of Travis Head | WTC25 Final
South Africa's Marco Jansen traps Travis Head on the final bowl before Lunch on Day 1.
Jansen, still just 25, broke into the Proteas’ Test side in December 2021, such were the raps on him. He hasn’t yet looked back in the game’s longest format, but all the while has emerged as a world beater in white-ball cricket too.
Jansen plied his trade with the Punjab Kings in the 2025 IPL, consistently taking breakthrough wickets and occasionally scoring important runs. His domestic campaign in India gave cricketing royalty Ricky Ponting a close-up perspective on the all-rounder, and Ponting is unsurprised that South Africa’s towering talent has stood out at Lord's.
Marco Jansen completes a brilliant juggling catch | Sobha POTD, Day 1 | WTC25 Final
Marco Jansen juggled thrice but held on in the end to get rid of the dangerous Steve Smith on Day 1 of the World Test Championship 2023-25 Final.
“He's pretty quiet and pretty laid back,” he told ICC Digital after day one of the WTC Final.
“Nothing really affects him too much. Regardless of if he's had a great day or not such a great day, he remains the same person.
“Whether that's internally and the way that he thinks about the game or the way that he is around the dressing room. But I think like most South Africans, you can tell there's an ultra competitive streak inside him.
“And once he gets out on the field, then it's game on.”
Jansen credited Ponting’s coaching at the Punjab Kings, having helped to evolve the South African’s mental approach to the game.
“I learned a lot from him,” Jansen told ICC Digital before the World Test Championship decider.
“Especially from a mental point of view. He’s always positive, he always tries to see or sees the good stuff instead of the bad stuff, if that makes sense. And I think that’s why he’s a legend of the game, because you always lean towards what could happen instead of what could go wrong. He’s helped a lot in that regard.”
Ponting expects Jansen to take his game to even loftier heights in the next World Test Championship cycle, saying there’s no ceiling on where he might get to as a multi-faceted contributor.
“I think he's going to… be one of the best all-rounders in Test match cricket in the world in the next couple of years,” Ponting continued.
“I've loved working with him and I just think he's an extreme talent that is still so young in his international career.”
Rabada and Jansen tear into the Aussie tail | WTC25 Final
South Africa quicks Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen make short work of Australia's tailenders in the first innings.
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