6’8″ Marco Jansen puts out injury concerns for a very tall fast bowler

South African all-rounder Marco Jansen has certainly grown his stature in South African cricket in the last year. He made his debut for South Africa in last year’s Boxing Day test against India, and now he is playing yet another boxing day test against Australia at the MCG.

The tall lanky pacer has now represented South Africa in all three formats of the game within a span of one year. In bowling, he has certainly impressed everyone, but he presented his batting skills in front of the world in the ongoing Boxing Day test against Australia.

On a pitch, where every South African batter failed, Jansen scored a knock of 59 runs and stitched a 112 runs partnership with Kyle Verreynne. This was Jansen’s first international half-century, and he really looked comfortable in the middle on a tough pitch against the South African pacers.

6’8″ Marco Jansen puts out injury concerns for a very tall fast bowler

Ahead of Day 2 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Marco Jansen talked with 7Cricket about his knock with the bat in the first innings. He said that when you score runs, it gives you a lot of confidence going into the next innings or the next match. Jansen insists that scoring runs give confidence in bowling and vice-versa as well.

Jansen is a tall all-rounder, he was asked about his exact height, to which he said that he is around 6’8”, and still be fields at the slip sometimes. Talking about how a tall bowler can save himself from injury, Jansen said that having a strong core and glutes is very necessary for a tall pacer.

Jansen insists that when the front foot lands on the ground, it puts a lot of load on the body, and if you are physically strong, then only you can survive the injuries. He said that he works on his upper body as well, but the core is the most important thing.

“For me personally, it’s about getting my core quite strong, and my glutes, legs, that kind of stuff quite strong. I’ve been focussing on my shoulder strength, and upper body because all of those things come into play but mainly your core,” Marco Jansen told 7Cricket.

“If your core is strong, then you’ll be able to manage the loads because when your front foot lands, there is quite a bit of loading going into your body. So, if your core & glutes are strong, you’ll be fine.”

It has been seen that tall bowlers are quite prone to injuries, and Jansen is in the early phase of his career, and he would definitely want to stay injury free as long as possible.