One more ball

Janko Webb is a special young man

I have been watching and following a lot of school cricket lately. So much so that I am developing a database of youngsters to keep an eye on. Of course, not all of them will take the next step, but there are a few whom I feel have a good chance if they continue on the trajectory they are on. 15-year-old Janko Webb is one of them.

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They family was caught in a loop.

Janko Webb believed there was just enough time for one more ball. So, he asked his parents, William and Elzaan, for just that: one more delivery. The parents acquiesced. However, what that meant was that, in the interest of fairness, they also had to bowl one last delivery to Luan, Janko’s younger brother.

After Luan faced that one, Janko would ask for the last one, and the cycle would start again: negotiation, acquiescence, Janko faces just one more ball, Luan gets his chance… over and over again. They were in a loop.

The family had wanted to make a day of it. It was Janko and Luan’s first day in the nets. The brothers were aged seven and five, respectively. Elzaan packed a cooler box and an assortment of snacks. William made sure that they had all the necessary kit. They went to Durbanville Cricket Club, where William and Elzaan did most of the bowling.

“They just simply didn’t want to go home, just wanted to face ‘one more ball’,” William recalled.

The Webb family were the last ones to leave the facility, and as William puts it, they ‘made sure the club was locked and safe for all to use the facilities again the next day.’ That was the beginning of an everlasting trend, they were always the last ones to leave the nets.

There was always one more ball for Janko to face.

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Janko has all the shots.

Calvin Trillin has a theory about families. He says that each family passes down a singular message. Some of those messages are rooted in faith, “Put God first in everything you do.” Others arm their children with something inspirational like, “Fall six times, rise seven.” Then there are those that put family first, “It’s your duty to carry the family name forward.” To cite a handful.

Janko was raised in a family that holds firm to the motto, “We give the Glory to God and stay humble in everything we do.” The teenager exudes the natural good-natured humility that is so valued in Afrikaans culture. He also lives the hashtag that forms part of the Webb family’s philosophy, #dowhatothersdont.

“It applies to difficult decisions we need to make, what we put in when no one else is watching,” William explained.

It is neither an observation, an order, nor a suggestion. It is a challenge. Instead of shying away, Janko picked up the gauntlet. This meant foregoing certain things or activities because he was in the nets training. This meant playing up. Janko famously sought out u13s when he was nine because his peers didn’t challenge him enough. During the COVID lockdown he had William crank up the bowling machine in the backyard.

Janko’s daily commute to and from school means that he leaves home just after 6am and returns 12 or 13 hours later. He trains three times a week with the school team and somehow finds room to add his own sessions into the hectic schedule.

“I met him a few years ago at the CPL. Then I saw him during his time at Rondebosch Boys High. He Trained almost everyday for long periods of time and you could see he had a crazy work ethic and is a hard worker,” Keanan Mitchell, Janko’s coach at Strandfontein Cricket Club, shared.

The result has been a glut of runs. Janko has scored 22 hundreds and 79 50s on his way to 12170 runs in 296 innings with an average of 69.9 at a strike rate of 135 across all formats in his nascent career. He boasts a high score of 190.

A closer look at his numbers tell a positive story about Janko’s development. Seventeen of his 22 centuries came after 1 January 2024, accompanied by 36 half-centuries. More impressively, five of those centuries have come in 2026. He has struck a mere five half-centuries in the same period. His conversion rate has greatly improved.

Two of those centuries came against teams with professional players. The first was an unbeaten 40-ball 101 for the Club Cricket SA XI over Durham University Cricket Club in a T20 match. The other one was a classy 142 from 115 balls for Essex against Western Province Colts in a two-day match a week later.

“The century against WP Colts stands out to me due to the format of the two-day game. It was a great test to face experienced players. I had to work hard for the runs scored,” Janko shared.

The 15-year-old is inspired by Virat Kohli and Dewald Brevis and hopes to emulate them and carve a place for himself in international cricket. In the meantime, he has his focus on getting good grades and performing well for Paul Roos, his school. He does that with William’s words in mind.

“You are not defined by the runs or achievements you get in life, But who you are through Christ, your saviour. The sports field is God’s playground to showcase and Glorify His name,” William often reminds his son.

His father’s words help him to keep his feet firmly on the ground and his head out of the clouds. It helps him to remain the Janko who believes there is one more ball to face in training and that there is one more run to score in matches.