Photo Credit: SA20 League
In another world Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis would be any two ordinary dorm mates trying to plot their way through university.
But instead the two Betway SA20 young guns are arguably the future of South African cricket. So, what do they actually speak about now that they’ve been paired together as roommates on the current South Africa ‘A’ tour to Sri Lanka.
“We do have a good thing going. It’s definitely a friendship that’s growing,” Stubbs said from Sri Lanka.
The pair were certainly inseparable during the recent Indian Premier League where they both play for Mumbai Indians.
Both unfortunately received limited gametime, with Stubbs only playing two matches, while Brevis never made it out on to the park in his second IPL season.
But that did not mean they were not hard at work behind-the-scenes, especially Stubbs who was particularly focused on rectifying tiny errors that had creeped into his game.
“Not playing in the IPL gives you time to experiment with a few things. It gives you time to work out what is your best way to go about it. In that sense, by not playing, you actually get time to figure things out,” Stubbs said.
“I did quite a lot of work at the IPL in getting still at the crease again. I felt like I was moving around too much. I did some work by staying still at the point of delivery.”
Equally, Stubbs was not overly despondent of not getting more playing time as he just looked to soak up all the experience that was present within the Mumbai Indians environment.
“It’s so early in my cricket career, I’ve only played for two years, so I am still very young, so I have looked to just enjoy it and allow myself time to figure it out,” he said.
“The best of the best are at the IPL. Sachin (Tendulkar), (Kieron) Pollard were there. These are some of the best players to play the game. So, just chatting with them was awesome. It is definitely beneficial being there, and being a part of it.”
The experience gained has already reaped dividends for Stubbs as he struck successive half-centuries in the unofficial ODI series against Sri Lanka ‘A’ to finish as South Africa’s leading run-scorer with 117 runs.
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.
