Johannesburg – Warriors coach, Robin Peterson wants Tristan Stubbs and the other youngsters in the South Africa ‘A’ squad to be given room to play all-formats to develop into future match winners for the country.
One of the highlights of the South Africa ‘A’ tour of Sri Lanka has been batter Tristan Stubbs. What made him stand out on this tour has not been his hard-hitting ability for which he is better known.
Stubbs gave everybody a glimpse of his full potential by spending a lot of time at the crease on this tour.
In fact, Stubbs faced more deliveries on this tour than any other SA ‘A’ batter with his Warriors teammate Matthew Breetzke finishing second in terms of deliveries faced across the two series’ played between Kandy and Colombo.
Warriors coach, Robin Peterson complemented the 22-year-old Stubbs for his work-ethic leading up to the tour of Sri Lanka.
“Firstly, I think he prepared well because at the IPL he was training his butt off,” Peterson told IOL Sport in an exclusive interview.
“When I was there in India, I could tell that he was working hard and the conversations I was having with the Mumbai Indians coaching staff in the background they told me he was putting in a lot of work.
“Also, he was doing all this hard work in similar conditions, so I think he went to Sri Lanka very well prepared,” he added.
Since Stubbs’ excellent returns in the 2022 Cricket SA T20 Challenge, he’s been boxed into a T20 specialist exclusively.
Working with Stubbs all the time at the Warriors in Gqeberha, coach Peterson has seen Stubbs’ potential better than most coaches and therefore insists that it is unfair not to allow the youngster to spread his wings into longer formats of the game.
“I feel he’s been unfairly put in positions where people expect him to hit sixes every ball, he’s a lot better player than that,” said Peterson.
“I think he’s a modern player that can score quickly, absorb pressure, transfer pressure and as a coach you know that in the fourth innings when you have to chase, you’re always in with a chance with Stubbs at the crease.”
The 2022/23 season has not been the best for Stubbs in both international and domestic cricket.
After securing the biggest bag in the SA20 auction as the most expensive buy, Stubbs did not live up to expectations despite his team winning the competition.
But towards the backend of the season, Stubbs showed what he could potentially become with a magnificent century against the Lions in a 50-over match in Gqeberha.
Peterson works with most of the country’s exciting youngsters including Stubbs, Sine Qeshile, Jordan Hermann and Breetzke.
Petersen told IOL Sport that these young cricketers need time to develop.
“You’ve got to take your time with these young guys,” said Peterson.
“Stubbs is young, he’s learning and is prepared to do his time and be patient and yet not let anything get him down mentally. Things have not gone his way and he’s had to go through some tough times over the last couple of months.
“From a Warriors perspective, we were very clear with Tristan that he will play 4-Day cricket because we told him that he won’t learn much about himself playing T20 all the time. 4-Day cricket is where he will really develop, and these types of ‘A’ tours will really accelerate his growth.
“Give him a position in the batting order and let him figure it out and he will fly high. I don’t see a point of taking these kids to an ODI series and not play them while you could have left them in their domestic sides and let them figure themselves out playing 4-Day cricket.”
Stubbs scored the only century for SA ‘A’ during the second unofficial Test match against Sri Lanka ‘A’ and did so batting at an unfamiliar number three position in the batting order.
Through correct guidance and patience, Stubbs, like many other promising youngsters in the SA ‘A’ side, has a very high ceiling and a bright future ahead of him.
@imongamagcwabe
IOL Sport