Proteas finisher Tristan Stubbs has given consultant Albie Morkel credit for his return to form.
Image: AFP
By all accounts Tristan Stubbs has got his smile back.
It went walkabout for long periods in 2025, particularly in the shortest format, where Stubbs had seemingly lost the dynamism at the crease that launched his career.
Instead, it was replaced with a grimace that was prevalent after each dismissal, and even more so when he uncharacteristically started dropping catches in the outfield too.
Something was amiss, so much so that arguably his greatest admirer Proteas coach Shukri Conrad was forced to have an honest conversation with him, which centred around his gameplay that saw Stubbs ultimately dropped from the original T20 World Cup squad.
But to the youngster’s credit, he did not sulk, took it on the chin, and decided to pour all his energies into his two local teams, the Warriors and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, whom Stubbs captained for the first time.
Two months later and both the Warriors and Sunrisers are champions of the respective CSA T20 Challenge and Betway SA20. He also played a winning hand in the SA20 final at Newlands, striking an unbeaten half-century to drive the Sunrisers to a third championship title in four seasons.
It was a pivotal moment for by then Stubbs had already been sent an SOS to replace the injured Donovan Ferreira in the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad.
He was now heading to India filled with renewed confidence, and more importantly had rediscovered his "swing" which put the smile back on Stubbs’ face.
“It took a while to enjoy it again, but just trying to,” Stubbs said yesterday. “ I find I enjoy it more when I compete more, so trying to just compete for every moment, just tell myself to compete with anything, so I am enjoying it a bit more.”
It has not only been visible in Stubbs’ batting, but also his brilliant catching on the boundary, especially in the first Super Eights clash against India when he took three excellent boundary catches in one Keshav Maharaj over.
Stubbs’ primary role though is to finish off innings for the Proteas. He has done that with aplomb at this T20 World Cup, striking a quick-fire 34 not out off 19 balls against Canada, holding his nerve to hit a last-ball six in the Super Over against Afghanistan, before timing his undefeated 44 off 24 balls against India to perfection.
Almost like a professional golfer that experienced the yips, Stubbs feels he is out of his slump now that he’s got his "swing" back after working with Proteas skills consultant Albie Morkel.
“I've done some work here with Albie. He's been really good,” Stubbs said.
“But I knew once I got the confidence back in my hitting, I knew my game was there. Just every time I've tried to, prior to the SA20, try to clear the ropes, it just didn't work.
“So once I got that, got my swing back where I thought it was back where it needed to be, then it goes from there. And T20, it's a lot about these similar patterns.
“It also comes down to playing one format for a consistent period of time. It's so hard chopping and changing. Test cricket, you have to be so disciplined. Your technique really matters
“We're now pretty much until the end of August where I don't have to worry about my front shoulder or left elbow. I'm just trying to hit all over the rope.”
Having overcome mighty India in their opening Super Eights clash, there is a genuine fear that the Proteas may suffer from an Ahmedabad hangover and take their eye off their next target.
Stubbs believes this is highly unlikely as the Proteas are fully aware of the threat the West Indies pose tomorrow, especially after their comprehensive victory over Zimbabwe in their opening Super Eights clash.
“They're a really good batting side. We even saw in the series (in South Africa) they've posted massive scores and all the batters are in really good form,” he said.
“So they bring that challenge with a bowling attack that's doing really well. So I think completely, it's different to India, but it's, I suppose in a way it's a similar challenge, like a really good batting lineup.
“They can score that big score if you're not on it and a bowling attack that then can do a good job of defending.
“So yeah, we'll be ready for Thursday. Probably prepped very similarly to India and we'll be up for it.”