Proteas all-rounder Marco Jansen celebrates a wicket during the Newlands Test.

Image: AFP

Marco Jansen may be a world champion, the top-ranked bowler and all-rounder in the world, but he would be the first to admit he is not even the best bowler in his team.

That honour would, of course, belong to Kagiso Rabada, the "Rolls-Royce" of the Proteas attack. But it is not just Rabada's game-breaking spells, like Saturday morning's three-wicket burst with the new ball that effectively sealed the Newlands Test and series, that Jansen appreciates. It is also the calming influence he has on him.

The 2.08m Skywalker has always been the antithesis of a conventional fast bowler, leaning more towards the cerebral side of the game than instinct. He has a penchant for overthinking things, so much so that he slept just "one-and-a-half hours, maybe two", going "cuckoo in the head" ahead of Saturday's final morning.

"I hardly got any sleep, looking out my window, going to the bathroom, having a Coke, thinking of what we could do, what I could do, what's going to be required, what if things don't go our way ..." Jansen revealed.

This is when big brother Rabada steps in to keep his new-ball partner on track.

"When he's in your side or when he's in the team, he gives you that little bit of extra confidence. I don't know what it is," Jansen told reporters after being named Player of the Series.

"It's weird. But yeah, I think it's just maybe how he is in and around the guys, how he is on the field, off the field. He sort of, he always reminds you what you're doing well.

"So I think that, especially for me personally, that helps me a lot, especially when we're talking about plans and tactics on the field while we're playing."

But how does it feel when it is all said and done and the trophies are on the table?

"When we end up on the right side of things, for a split second there's a sigh of relief that it's over," Jansen said.

"But after that there's a really good and excited and pumped feeling, knowing that if I played well I've contributed. And also if I didn't play well I still contributed, whether it was on the field or off the field.

"This is a team thing. It's not an individual thing, and that gives me a lot of joy and happiness. It makes it very much worth it."

Jansen certainly contributed over the course of three epic tussles with Australia. He claimed 13 wickets at an average of 19.76, including a five-wicket haul that helped demolish Australia for just 99 in Gqeberha, scored 198 runs at an average of 39.60, and pouched five catches.

It is performances like these that are earning Jansen plaudits and placing the 26-year-old firmly in the spotlight.

In small, predominantly Afrikaans-speaking South African towns such as Klerksdorp, where Jansen hails from, all this adulation could make someone a little windgat (arrogant). But he is adamant that it is unlikely ever to happen to him.

"My dad used to tell myself and my brother [Duan], 'Moenie dat jou kop te groot raak nie' [don't let your head get too big].

"So no. I just see myself as a laaitie [youngster] from Klerksdorp. When I started playing professionally and started my career for the Proteas, I never thought of getting into the top 10 bowling or all-rounder rankings. Fast forward to now, where I'm on top of those lists; it's surreal.

"I remind myself where I come from and what I've had to do to be consistent and perform consistently. How old am I now? Twenty-six?

"Eight years ago I was in high school, and I was watching these guys on TV doing their thing. Now I'm in Cape Town, where a lot of people are watching us.

"I'm better prepared mentally if things don't go our way, or if we're doing well, or if I'm batting or bowling well, to stay calm and composed. Being able to handle those situations better is the difference."