Marco Jansen had one of those nights on Friday, a knotty, thorny sequence of long, dark hours when he goes “cuckoo in the head”, as he had told a press conference on Wednesday.

Back behind the microphones on Saturday, Jansen said: “I probably slept one-and-a-half hours, maybe two. That’s because of looking out my window, going to the bathroom, having a coke. I hardly got any sleep, thinking of what we could do, what I could do, what’s going to be required, what if things don’t go our way …”

Things did go South Africa’s way at Newlands on Saturday. Australia, who chased a target of 288, were bowled out for 111. That earned the home side the series 2-1 and put them on top of the ICC Test rankings for the first time since January 2016. It also hiked South Africa — the WTC champions — into second place in those standings. The Aussies, who started the series on top of the rankings and second in the standings, are now second and third. How did that feel?

“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 contributed directly in the first innings at Newlands, hitting seven fours in his 52 and taking 3/60 in the first innings. His second innings might have been what kept him awake on Friday night: he was bounced out by Mitchell Starc for an eight-ball duck. On Saturday he bowled eight wicketless overs for 17.

But he was named player of the series. That's what happens when you bring your team back into the rubber with a 100-ball 85 after they’ve slumped to 110/6. And then take 5/33. Jansen did that in the second Test at St George’s Park, where South Africa found a way to win by an innings and 31 runs after most of the first two days’ play was lost to rain and a wet outfield. And, on top of that, under the pressure of having lost the first Test at Kingsmead by 214 runs. Despite the size of those margins the series produced intensely competitive cricket.

“It wasn’t easy,” Jansen said. “There were a lot of ups and downs; ebbs and flows. It was never a case of one team having the upper hand for an extended period of time. There was a stage where I was sitting in the [Newlands] changeroom and you think, ‘Yes! We’re in this thing!’ And then four wickets fall and I’m like, ‘What the hell are we doing?!’”

Jansen’s exploits in the series have made him Test cricket’s top-ranked bowler and allrounder. Did that make him think of himself as special?

“No. I just see myself as a lightie [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 allrounder rankings. Fast forward to now where I’m on top of those lists; firstly it’s surreal and secondly, like my dad used to tell myself and my brother [Duan], ‘Moenie dat jou kop te groot raak nie [don’t let you head get too big]. I remind myself where I come from and what I’ve had to be to be consistent and perform consistently.”

Maybe Jansen’s most valuable asset is that he has maintained the link between his smalltown former life and the big time he has reached.

“How old am I now? Twenty-six? [Correct]. 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. To handle those situations better is the difference.”

Jansen can afford to be more inwardly focused than Temba Bavuma, who has to answer not only for himself but also for the team he captains. Happily for all concerned Bavuma is good at that.

“In a weird way, but also a beautiful way, we are driven by this ambition to achieve what it is that we want to achieve; the narratives and the sentiments and the stories that are created around it all,” Bavuma told a press conference.

“You have to answer questions why a certain guy is playing. But we stick to what we want to achieve, and we’ve surpassed a lot of those things. Did I think two or two-and-a-half years ago that we’d be in this position? Probably not.”

Key to that happening is Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s imaginative, maverick coach. How he and Bavuma, who comes across as measured and logical, get along is a fascinating study in contrasts. But, clearly, they do.

“Shuks uses a crazy formula. I keep questioning him to make sure we’re making the right decision. But, whatever decision we make, we back it with 100% conviction.”

Bavuma called the series, in which all three matches went to five days, “an enthralling 15 days of cricket”. He also labelled it “15 days of pressure”.

Now that the pressure’s off here’s hoping Bavuma, and Jansen, sleep well on Saturday.