Stubbs' SA20 Final Heroics Boost T20 World Cup Hopes, Says Graeme Smith

Stubbs scored an unbeaten 63 to guide Sunrisers Eastern Cape to their third SA20 title after edging Pretoria Capitals, where he also shared an unbroken 111-run stand with fellow half-centurion Matthew Breetzke. The innings came at a crucial time for Stubbs, who began the tournament on a lean note and was omitted from South Africa's squad for the T20 World Cup.

But a shoulder injury to Donovan Ferreira meant Stubbs was recalled to South Africa's squad and slowly found his rhythm in the business end of the competition to hit his first half-century in the T20 format in 51 innings since August 2024.

"I think he was obviously first-time captaining the team. There was a lot going on, and from what I read, people were getting frustrated that he wasn't in his tempo, and they were talking about the tempo of his game. I thought he nailed it in the final. He rebuilt the innings and then really showed his ability to take the game on.

"His power, experiences he has, and we've seen him do it at the IPL and for South Africa and during SA20 - so he's got it. I think that innings would give him a world of confidence, and that's amazing. I think he is a confident player, and he would have grown in stature.

"He's had to obviously fight back from a few disappointments in the last six months. I always love it when a player who's under pressure really shows his worth on a big stage like that final. Credit to him and hopefully he'll take that feeling, form, and confidence into the World Cup," Smith told IANS in a virtual session facilitated by SA20 on the conclusion of a successful fourth season of the competition.

The tournament also produced breakout performances from little-known players, with Paarl Royals' pacer Nqobani Mokoena grabbing everyone's attention by taking 13 wickets in 10 games at an economy rate of 9.62.

Asked about developing the talent pool to unearth more players like Mokoena, Smith acknowledged it was primarily Cricket South Africa's responsibility while celebrating such emergence stories coming to everyone's notice via SA20.

"That really is probably a Cricket South Africa question because it's their responsibility to invest back into grassroots and to build the game. I know they do that extensively. I think everyone loves the story of a player that nobody knew about. I even think that there might be a little something in our system that nobody knew about, which suddenly arrived on the stage and performed as Mokoena did.

"That's the stories that the media, public, and everybody loves. I think the other exciting part is we've seen a lot of players grow during SA20. We've seen the likes of Stubbs, Breetzke, and Brevis -- it's just three examples that really have gone from strength to strength over the last three to four years. We saw Quinton de Kock have a great season after being out of the game for a long time. So there are lots of great stories," he added.

Mokoena, who was part of South Africa's 2024 Under-19 World Cup squad, has impressed with a pace of up to 140 kph, as well as variations including a slower ball, and the ability to extract movement and bounce.

"But I mean, everyone loves a story where no one knew about a kid, and suddenly he put his name on the global map. What I loved about it is that he's a young man who got thrust into a lot of tough positions as well. It wasn't like they protected him. He bowled in tough times of the game, and he was able to step up. So it shows a lot of character about the kid as well," concluded Smith.

- IANS