India, Oct. 29 -- There are far more conventional ways to announce yourself as the best Test bowler in the world. But Marco Jansen did it by rescuing South Africa from 110 for six, hitting an imposing 85 from 100 balls, before helping dismantle Australia with 5/33 in Gqeberha. By the time the latest ICC rankings arrived, Jansen had displaced Mitchell Starc at the top of the Test bowling table. At 26, he had reached a summit that once seemed a distant prospect for a cricketer whose most obvious attribute was his extraordinary height.

Extraordinary could be an understatement though. At 6ft 9in-add to this the length of an entire arm and a fair spring to that popping crease jump-Jansen's towering presence alone has disconcerted batters, pro...