The 24-year-old Tristan Stubbs has moved from batting at No.6 in the order to No.4 as experienced batters Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller have been rested in the last few white ball series.
Tristan Stubbs has found himself in the senior players bracket of late as Proteas limited-overs coach Rob Walter has been selecting inexperienced squads since after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
As a result, the 24-year-old has moved from batting at number six in the order to number four as experienced batters Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller have been rested in the last few white ball series.
Despite the new batting position and the different role that Stubbs has had to play in the current squad, he has had success, particularly in the T20 format.
In his first dig at the number four position, the right-handed batter has averaged 48 with scores of 76, 28 and 40 against West Indies last month.
Heading into the two-match series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi (the first match was on Friday night), the youngster has a similar role to play.
In conversation with Stubbs, he emphasised that he does not feel much pressure despite the bigger role that he now has in the side.
The 24-year-old details how the roles change between batting in position six and four in the batting order, and explains which position he prefers going forward in his T20 career.
“I wouldn’t say there is more pressure on me now. Yes, I’ve played a bit more which helps and I’ve played a lot of T20 games to see a lot of things and have been put in a lot of different situations,” said Stubbs.
“So, that experience is nice to fall back on. I wouldn’t say I have more pressure because in the bigger scheme of things in international cricket I’m still young.
“I enjoy the number four role. From where I’ve batted I think it’s the hardest position. One to three you sort of play the same way each game and with positions five and six the game is laid out in front of you. With four, it’s in between that which makes it tricky. Between four and six, I prefer four because I have a bit more time in the middle,” he added.
Having come from an embarrassing One Day International series defeat to Afghanistan a week ago where Stubbs and all the Proteas batters struggled against spin in the UAE, the Proteas are on the back foot going into the Ireland series.
The 24-year-old says the wicket in Abu Dhabi looks a lot different to the one in Sharjah where they were handed a 2-1 series defeat by Afghanistan.
As a result, spin might not be as effective as it was in the Afghanistan series.
The youngster added that the transition from One Day International cricket to T20 cricket only takes a mental switch and has very little to do with any technical adjustments.
“There isn’t much adjustment in technique, it’s more of a mental switch. T20 gives a more complete freedom to take the game on. In the longer format of the game your wicket has more value than the shorter format,” he added.
Top-order batters Matthew Breetzke and Ryan Rickelton, and all-rounder Patrick Kruger, were also added in the Proteas squad for the Ireland series.
The second T20I between the sides on Sunday, also starting at 5.30pm.
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