Duan Jansen (18) showcased his immense talent in his second first-class game for the North West Dragons last weekend. His astounding bowling figures of 6/9 took his side to a comprehensive 100 run victory against Free State in Bloemfontein.
Jansen and his twin brother, Marco (3/12), kept the batsmen on their toes in this 3-day provincial challenge encounter and ripped the heart out of the Free State side to dismiss them in their second innings for 92.

It was a fantastic turnaround for North West, who started the match poorly in their first innings on day one. The Dragons were bowled out for 122 with the tail-ender, Craig Alexander scoring 51.
Free State replied with 220 all out as the former NWU batsman, Hanco Olivier’s hit 45 runs for the home side and Karabo Mogotsi’s (78) put them in a solid position.

The visitors replied with 289 all out in their second innings, mainly due to Ruan Haasbroek’s belligerent 90* as he steered NW to a defendable total. A fifty partnership with Johannes Diseko (36) was also crucial in building momentum and creating a bigger advantage for their bowlers to work with, in the fourth innings.
It was the Jansens’ show when North West took the ball and, for these two youngsters, who matriculated from Gimmies in 2018, there might not be a sweeter moment than the bowling performance they put on over the weekend.

‘It was a fantastic game for me, even though I never bowled that well in the first innings. I then realised that the pitch started helping us fast bowlers with extra pace and bounce and, in the second innings, I bowled really well. Another thing that motivated me was that we needed to bowl them out quickly on the final day.
The best aspect was ensuring a win for the team with a great performance for the Dragons,’ said Duan.