South Africa finished second at the three-team tournament, but van Jaarsveld only passed 20 once, ending with 82 runs at an average of 20.50, and he was left out of the squad to tour Pakistan in 2003–04.
Van Jaarsveld also went on tour to Sri Lanka in 2004, but despite a first-innings 51 in the second Test, South Africa lost that match by 313 runs to lose the series.
After not batting against Bangladesh, van Jaarsveld made a golden duck in South Africa's second and last match, smashing a ball from Ian Bradshaw to Daren Powell in a five-wicket loss to the eventual champions West Indies.
He played two more Tests, however – making 15 runs in two innings (out of the South Africans' total of 679) in a draw at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur before he was dropped for Hashim Amla.
He made the highest score for Kent in the 2005 season, with 262 not out against Glamorgan, but was third in the run-scoring tables with 1,198 runs, behind former England Test player Rob Key and 29-year-old Darren Stevens.