Nqobani mokoena

T20 World Cup: Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain and SA20 commissioner, believes the match-winning knock by Tristan Stubbs in the recent SA20 final will be the perfect confidence booster ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

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.