Photo Credit: SA20 League
Proteas’ Men’s white-ball coach Rob Walter has heaped praise on Sunrisers Eastern Cape star Tristan Stubbs for his sparkling performances in the recently-concluded T20I series against the West Indies.
The Proteas slipped to a third straight series defeat, and a second consecutive 3-0 cleansweep to the Windies in the Caribbean on Tuesday evening.
The batting unit struggled to cope with the Windies attack, with the top-order in particular struggling to lay any form of a platform.
Stubbs was the lone standout performer, topping the run-scoring charts across both teams with 144 runs at an average of 48 and strike-rate of 177.71.
Throughout the series, Stubbs also showcased his growing maturity by being able to handle the pressure of batting in the premier No 4 spot. He has certainly taken his game to the next level since topping the run-charts for the Sunrisers in Betway SA20 Season 2.
The 24-year-old was previously utilised primarily as a “finisher” to slog a few sixes during the death overs, but coach Walter has now handed the youngster greater responsibility of building the Proteas’ innings around him since the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean.
He has certainly shown that he is up to the task, particularly during the first T20I where he clubbed 76 off 42 balls (8×4 ; 3×6) after the Proteas had been reduced to 42/5.
Stubbs followed it up with 28 off 24 balls in the second match and would probably have been disappointed that he did not take the Proteas’ over the line in the run chase, but responded with another blitzkrieg 40 off only 15 balls (5×4 ; 3×6) in the final match of the series.
“Tristan Stubbs stands out with his performances. Stubbo batted in three different situations and really stood out in two of them,” Walter said.
“He showed a broad range of shot options, played well against spin, played well against the seam and dominated the back end of the innings.
“It’s exciting to see a batter of his quality able to deliver a performance in different situations.”
Stubbs, meanwhile, felt that while he was happy to be a contributor to the team, but feels that he still needs to do more to help the Proteas’ reverse their fortunes.
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Name of Author: SA20 League
SA20, officially known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa organized by Cricket South Africa (CSA). First held in the 2023 season, the league features six city-based teams. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the first two editions of the tournament.
