Tristan Stubbs in action for the Warriors during the CSA T20 Challenge earlier this year. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
It has been a whirlwind year for emerging South African cricket talent Tristan Stubbs as he now prepares for the biggest challenge of his fledgling career, taking on India in India with the Proteas.
The 21-year-old Stubbs burst onto the scene earlier this year in the CSA T20 competition with the Warriors, where he finished as the second highest run scorer in the competition with an impressive average just shy of 50 runs an innings and an incredible strike rate of over 180.
He hammered a career best score of 80 not out off just 31 balls against the Dolphins, while also smashing an unbeaten 51 off 27 against the Titans and 65 off 35 against the Knights, showing his prodigious talent.
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“I was in good form leading up to the (CSA T20) tournament and then I was given a lot of freedom by the coaches to just go and play and it worked out nicely,” admitted Stubbs.
It was a far cry from his school days where he was considered more of a long format batter due to a much slower strike rate, where he used to carefully craft his innings, however it was during the initial lockdown at the start of Covid that he began to change his game.
“During lockdown I did a lot of strength work and got a lot stronger and when I started playing again I realised I could hit the ball quite nicely,” explained Stubbs.
“I still have pretty much the same mind-set as when I was in school, but I am a lot more confident in being able to go over the top. A mishit now can still go all the way but a mishit then would have been out. So that has given me a lot more confidence.”
His performances in the T20 competition caught the eye of the Proteas selectors and Stubbs was then selected for the SA A side that toured Zimbabwe, with him playing in two matches and notching up unbeaten scores of 39 and 17 in easy wins.
“It was a really cool experience playing in Zimbabwe. Just playing cricket abroad in an international environment, I took some great learnings from that, while adapting to different conditions and being in that setup was great for me,” said Stubbs.
“The pitches were challenging and Zimbabwe are a good side that challenged us, so that was good. It was also great to chat to some of the senior players and learn from them.”
Stubbs was set to play in all five T20 games, but found his tour cut short when he was a surprise pick as an injury replacement for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
“It was a massive surprise to get the call-up. Very cool to be a part of it and I am so thankful that I got that opportunity because I got a lot out of that experience as well,” explained Stubbs.
“Just to chat to guys like (Kieron) Pollard, Rohit Sharma and coach Mahela Jayawardene, it was awesome to learn from them and I tried to get as much as I could out of it.
“The whole setup of the IPL really opens your eyes and to go back there would be awesome.”
Stubbs incredible rise then reached fever pitch as he was selected for the Proteas T20 tour of India and he will now have a chance to shine on the world’s biggest stage against the biggest team in world cricket.
“It has been a crazy few months and getting the call-up to the Proteas was amazing and I am really happy to get this chance,” said Stubbs.
“You always want to play against the best to test yourself, so to play against India in India is the best opportunity to test myself against the best and show what I can do.
“I don’t want to look to far ahead but I just want to make sure I take this opportunity that I have been given and make the most of it and if I do that the rest can take care of itself. I just want to try and enjoy this experience as much as possible.”