Stubbs eyes whitewash as Proteas build momentum for Champions Trophy

OBAKENG MELETSE

Tristan Stubbs says that the Proteas will not be distracted by their series win, but they are focused on securing a series whitewash as they continue to build momentum ahead of the Champions Trophy.

South Africa now leads the series 2-0 after their 174-run victory. The final encounter is scheduled for Monday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The Proteas had all the bases covered and took full control of the contest with both bat and ball. They have suffocated the European side so far in this series with the Men in Green suffering two heavy defeats.

The 24-year-old Stubbs was on the front foot, and he played a mature innings of 112 off 81 balls, building on from his hard-fought 79 in the first match after South Africa were in early trouble at 39/3.

“It’s definitely my favourite format,” Stubbs said in a press conference reflecting on his current success in the 50-over format.

“You’ve got so much time to bat; you can knock it around for a long time and have a swing at the end; you can just bat for long and still take quite a few risks and try to score quickly. It’s definitely my favourite format; you can still score a hundred, but you can also still take the game on, which I really enjoy.”

The Proteas and coach Rob Walter will be pleased with their series win, especially after their shock 2-1 loss to Afghanistan last month. Stubbs believes the impact of the world-class spinner played a huge role in them losing against them for the first time.

Prior to their visit to the United Arab Emirates, South Africa last played an ODI match in December 2023 against India.

“The Afghanistan series was tough; the wickets were turning, but we were facing Rash (Rashid Khan). Most of us have faced him in the SA20, where it turns a little bit, but there you face him and it's turning square, so that was probably the first time we faced him in a wicket that turned that much.

“It was terrible losing, but to be in a game where it was turning both ways was something I have never experienced, and also a lot of us hadn’t played 50 over cricket, but it was not an excuse.”

The right-handed batter expects South Africa to tighten the grip on the series, and with one eye on the Champions Trophy, he expects his side to carry all the momentum they have from the two wins and push for a series clean sweep.

“There are still a lot of players that are due to come back into the side as we build to the Champions Trophy, but for us currently, we need to try and make it a 3-0 series win.

“We have had a few good performances, but we haven’t backed them up and kept winning, so that will be the big motivation for Monday. We need to keep the momentum going because we have a lot of cricket coming.”