Proteas star Tristan Stubbs plays a shot during the first day of the second Test against Bangladesh. Proteas star Tristan Stubbs plays a shot during the first day of the second Test against Bangladesh. Picture: Tanvin Tamim / AFP
Tristan Stubbs burst onto the international cricket scene as a guy who can come in and hit the ball out of the park. A dynamic kid with a power game to come and bash attacks at the back end of an innings.
But this year he has been given a lot more responsibility up the order for the Proteas in white-ball cricket to bat longer and face more balls.
He recently scored his maiden One-Day International century against Ireland in the United Arab Emirates, rebuilding the Proteas’ innings before showcasing his hitting ability towards the end.
Earlier this year, Test coach Shukri Conrad pushed him into Proteas’ problematic No 3 position, putting his faith in the youngster’s technique and temperament after eight different players had come and gone at first drop since the retirement of Hashim Amla in 2019.
On Tuesday, during day one of the second Test against against Bangladesh in Chattogram, Stubbs showed that he indeed has both the technique and the temperament to make that position his own.
Stubbs scored his maiden Test ton - 106 - with a mix of good defence and patience, coupled his ability to take on the bowlers with big shots over the top, while also using his trusty reverse sweep against the spinners.
Stubbs and opener Tony de Zorzi shared a magnificent 201-run stand, to put the Proteas in a strong position, after they finished the day’s play on 307/2.
Stubbs went through quiet periods where he had to absorb some pressure, which shows that he is maturing into a top international batter.
“Up until lunch I felt I was scoring quite freely. After lunch I found it hard to get off strike ... the ball was doing a bit and it was a good period of them,” said Stubbs.
“I grafted it out, and when I got the rhythm back again, I felt quite comfortable. When I got to the three figures, I felt relief more than anything.
“It was hard to score freely. There was a bit of stop.”
Stubbs praised Di Zorzi following his unbeaten 141 in very hot and humid conditions. The left-hander struggled with cramp during the day, but soldiered on and even played a couple of big strokes towards the end of the day’s play.
“I was very nervous up-front ... it was really nice batting with Tony. He was calm and he was flowing quite nicely and I give huge credit to him,” said Stubbs.
"Straight after lunch he started cramping in his forearm, and having the mental strength to get through the whole day was unbelievable.
"We kept reminding each other ‘let’s keep going and not take anything for granted’. It was really enjoyable batting with him."
Both players employed the reverse sweep against the Bangladesh spinners with great reward. It was their release shot, even used it to rotate the strike.
"Before the game, my game plan was to sweep and I actually struggled to sweep," Stubbs said.
"It was the reverse sweep today ... Tony was similar, he was sweeping really well. Sometimes, when it’s working on that day, you just commit to it.
"He did that well to rotate strike and that worked throughout the day."
@JohnGoliath82