Duan Jansen on the cusp of South Africa debut as he forges his own path beyond Marco's shadow

On a golden July evening last year, standing alongside Marco Jansen in the garden of the South African High Commissioner's residence in Kensington, was someone who looked very much like him. They were almost identical — both tall, one topping the other by five centimetres, both lean, both bowling left-arm fast and both developed into punishing right-handed batters.

But the Jansen twins, Duan and Marco, are not the same man. Marco made his South Africa debut in a Test against India at Centurion in December 2021 and has since played 224 matches, 82 of them internationals of all kinds. Duan has had 103 games since that landmark — none of them for South Africa. Convention says that shouldn't happen to older brothers; Duan is the elder by 15 minutes. Then again, Marco is taller by five centimetres.

There is no explaining how one twin goes where the other doesn't — but that did not stop Duan from trying to make sense of it.

“When his career started it was difficult because the media and other people asked a lot of questions,” Duan told a press conference on Wednesday. “But from four or five years ago, two years into his Proteas journey, it all changed for me mentally.

“I had to take my own route, and it changed how I play, how I approach training, how I see his games when I watch him. I've asked [him] a lot of questions after games and pre-games. I see that as a positive because you can get a glimpse of how the Proteas set-up runs.”

“Our relationship has got better and stronger. That's a great thing to have, especially with one of your family members. Once that happened I reaped the rewards.”

How many rewards could be seen in the coming days. Duan is part of the squad beginning a triangular T20 tournament in Windhoek on Friday, with the hosts and Zimbabwe the other competing sides. It is a stage he has worked hard to reach, having twice broken a foot and spent years going nowhere slowly with North West between January 2019 and February 2025.

Marco, meanwhile, won his first 13 Test caps during that period, taking three five-wicket hauls and scoring three half-centuries — including a solid 84 not out on debut. Small wonder Duan considered walking away from the game. Instead, he hung in there.

“To wake up every morning and say 'I have to do this to improve' was the most difficult part because it didn't feel like I was improving even though I was putting in the hard work,” Duan said. “I saw a family psychologist, which helped a lot. That also helped my spiritual life. I had a purpose in this career; God put me in this place for a reason. So He's going to make it work. It made me stronger and more patient. I thought, 'OK, it's not going well right now. But it's going to pay off.' Three years down the line I'm smiling.”

Since moving to the Titans before last season, Duan has made a happyhabit of turning up when his teams need him most. He scored a matchwinning run-a-ball 61 not out in the One-Day Cup final at the Wanderers to help the Titans beat the Lions by three wickets in March, and was named South Africa's domestic one-day player of the season. Fresh from taking 16 wickets in the T20 Blast — making him Gloucestershire's leading bowler in the competition — a South Africa debut is the logical next step.

The step after that — partnering Marco in the same South Africa side — could be trickier. Is there room for two long, lean left-arm bowling all-rounders in the same XI?

“One of our personal goals is to play together for the Proteas, but we know that's not going to be easy,” Duan said. “If it means we have to come in and out for each other, or be on tour together and one sits out and the other one plays, that's fine.

“But if we do the right things for a longer period of time the chance for us to play together for our country is going to be better. We have to walk our own way; I have to do a job, he has to do his job. And if it aligns that way we're both going to be happy.

“He's done a lot of good things careers. I'm starting my journey, so I am still to show it on this stage. But I'm here for a reason and I'm here for a certain goal and I'm going to reach that goal.”

For now the spotlight is squarely on Marco. Until recently Duan has been known in the wider world for two reasons: being Marco's brother and, with Marco, bowling to Virat Kohli in the Wanderers nets in January 2018. Sibling parity, however, could be on the cards — a reminder that even great names in cricket history have been defined by their families' better-known members, just as Gary Kirsten was long described as “Peter's brother” before he guided India to World Cup glory.