After his 85 with the bat, he claimed five wickets with ball and took a catch

Marco Jansen has grabbed the spotlight in this second Test, after shunning it a week ago, to become the player Dale Steyn calls “currently the best cricketer in the world”.

There were 85 runs off Jansen’s bat — he claimed five wickets in Australia’s first innings and held onto an excellent running catch on Wednesday to stamp his authority on the second Test at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.

It’s a quirk of Jansen’s personality that he has the physical attributes to be a main character, but when pushed into the role, he hasn’t been able to perform at his best.

These two Tests against Australia have shown that. Jansen had to lead the attack in Durban last week when Kagiso Rabada was missing, and aside from a spell after lunch on the first day that delivered a devastating one-two punch to dismiss Steve Smith, he appeared bereft.

With Rabada back in situ, Jansen has been in alpha mode. His aggressive intent provided momentum to the South African innings and relieved the pressure on Temba Bavuma at a crucial time in the first session on day three.

It was the period where the match turned, and by Wednesday Jansen was ensuring that the direction it took was one which would end with South Africa winning.

Much work remains before that journey is completed. Australia still has six second-inning wickets in hand, although there are doubts about Steve Smith, who was being treated for a neck problem while he was batting in Australia’s first innings.

He didn’t come out in his usual No 4 spot in the follow-on innings. Australia still trail by 170 runs and will hope that one of their great batters — who became the third from that country to reach 11,000 Test runs — is able to play a part on the final day to help rescue this Test.

The Proteas are also a man down with Anrich Nortje being assessed for a right groin injury.

It made Jansen’s contribution, especially in the 20 minutes before lunch on Wednesday, so crucial. Smith and Australia’s hero from the first Test, Matt Renshaw, had staved off the Proteas for more than an hour when Bavuma asked Jansen to get him a breakthrough before the interval.

He got two. Renshaw, so obstinate in Durban, could not get on top of a delivery that bounced sharply, found the edge of his bat, and presented Simon Harmer with his third catch of the innings, diving forward in the gully.

Alex Carey attempted a shot he’d quickly want to forget; two balls later, Jansen secured his fifth wicket after lunch when Beau Webster edged another steepling delivery to give Aiden Markram a catch at second slip. His 5/33 was the fifth five-wicket haul of a Test career in which he has now taken 98 wickets.

The only blemish on an otherwise outstanding day was Jansen’s dropping of Travis Head in the gully when the Australian opener was on five.

The Australians, who will resume on 156/4 will hope someone can lend Head support on the last day. The opener was on 87 at stumps, with Scott Boland, who’d also come in as nightwatchman in the first innings, doing so again the second, not out on two having faced 23 balls. — TimesLIVE