Duan Jansen and Marco Jansen played together for South Africa for the first time on 27 September. The same day, Dale Steyn revealed he had wanted the twins paired years ago, at both franchises he coached.
They lined up in the second ODI of the Australia series at the Wanderers. South Africa won by 32 runs to take a 2-0 lead.
“I was a big believer when I coached at SRH and SEC that we should buy Duan Jansen to join his brother Marco. Seeing the 2 of them together off the field always led me to believe that they’d get the best of one another when paired together, not separated. I’m so pleased to see that happen today. Granted it doesn’t guarantee success today, but over time, you’ll reap the rewards. Well done boys!”
Dale Steyn, post on X, 27 September 2026
Marco Jansen and Duan Jansen played together for South Africa for the very first time yesterday. pic.twitter.com/4hB6Wr6qN9
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 28, 2026
Steyn was bowling coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2022 to 2024 and at Sunrisers Eastern Cape for three SA20 seasons, where he won two titles. Marco was his bowler at both, but Duan never joined him. Duan played one IPL game for Mumbai Indians, then turned out for MI Cape Town and Joburg Super Kings.
The scorecard shows what each twin did on the day. It does not show what two identical left-arm quicks do to a batter over a full innings.
Insider Read
Against most attacks, a batter gets relief when the bowler changes. A new bowler brings a new angle, a new release point and a new length to read. That reset is where batters take runs and find their rhythm again.
Two tall left-armers with near-identical actions take that reset away. The line you just adjusted to comes at you again from the other end, from the same height and on the same angle. It rarely wins a single spell, but it wears batters down over a series, which is exactly what Steyn meant by reaping the rewards over time.
Day One at the Wanderers
Duan only made this squad as a late replacement for the injured Ottneil Baartman. His first game beside his brother was mixed:
| Batting | Bowling | |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Jansen | 19 off 15 | 2/53 in 7 overs |
| Duan Jansen | 27* off 18 | 0/44 in 5 overs |
Marco removed Jack Edwards and Adam Zampa off consecutive balls. Duan’s unbeaten 27 helped push South Africa to 365/9, but he went wicketless. Day one matched Steyn’s own warning.
No twins had played together for the South Africa men’s team before. According to the Daily Dispatch, they are only the third set in the same international XI, after Steve and Mark Waugh and New Zealand’s Hamish and James Marshall.
Next stop is home. The third ODI is in Potchefstroom, where the brothers went to school, on 30 September.
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