Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis carry South Africa’s tomorrow in T20 World Cup 2026

Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis together [Source: X]

Fate has a strange way to make you do things, and Tristan Stubbs is just one of the pawns of the game. The 25-year-old Proteas batter was initially made to sit out of the T20 World Cup 2026 squad, a few weeks ago and at present day, he is now one of the primary threats for every other team participating in that tournament!

Tristan Stubbs, who had his fair share of whacking in the recently concluded SA20 2026, made his way into the World T20 squad after injury issues got the better of the Proteas camp.

Stubbs’ golden opportunity after Ferreira’s exit

With Donovan Ferreira out, Stubbs got the chance to play his maiden T20 World Cup tournament, and even before that, he showed off his arsenal of hitting and responsibility-taking in the SA20 Final for Sunrisers Eastern Cape as the team lifted the trophy.

However, this article isn’t only about ‘Stubbs the saviour’. Dewald Brevis, another young prospect of the South African soi,l was remarkable in the SA20 Final and was a gem in the tournament throughout. Being the bad news, both these gems are now present in South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad.

Before delving into what they are capable of doing to other teams, let’s take a look at the fury they created just a few days ago.

Tristan Stubbs turned fate for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20 Final

Tristan Stubbs was the man of the hour for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 Final. After restricting Pretoria Capitals to a modest 158, SEC was struggling at 48/4 at the end of 8.4 overs. Quinton de Kock, Jonny Bairstow disappointed, but then entered Stubbs, with Matthew Breetzke already at the crease.

The duo turned the game on its head with a blitzkrieg partnership of 114 runs off just 65 deliveries. There were lifelines given, moments that drew the life out of SEC fans, but composure reigned as captain Stubbs at the crease pulled off a chase that required 21 runs off the last two overs.

Stubbs stayed unbeaten at 63 off 41 to hit the winning runs off Bryce Parsons in the last over. The Proteas prodigy had only 4 sixes and 2 boundaries to his name, but it was not about the firepower in this match. It was about the composure the duo had.

From 56 required off 24 deliveries, where the match winner prediction meter read just a 19.16% probability of SEC’s win, Stubbs stayed level-headed to guide the team home with four balls still remaining.

Dewald Brevis’ lone knock put Pretoria Capitals in a fighting position

On the other hand, Dewald Brevis also showed off his bravado for the Pretoria Capitals, in a losing cause, though. The young gun fired up a 56-ball 101 at a strike rate of 180.36 when his team was struggling at 1/2 at the end of just 1.1 overs.

Brevis took the responsibility to build the innings on his back as he partnered for 97 runs with Bryce Parsons and later shared a 37-run innings with Sherfane Rutherford to push the total to 158. Brevis, who has 1,046 SA20 runs at a strike rate of 149.00, kept his promise that gave the Capitals a hope to fight back with the ball in the Newlands Stadium.

Partnership between Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs

With both Dewald Brevis and Stubbs having an inning of their life in the SA20 2026 Final, it is also a remarkable thing to notice that both these players are just 22 and 25 years of age.

The responsibility the duo took for their respective teams is one to commend, and given the case for the upcoming World Cup, there might be scenarios when the duo might have to join hands together to salvage the team from sinking.

Earlier, Dewald Brevis and Stubbs had just to opportunities to partner together for a significant score for South Africa in T20Is, both against Australia in August 2025.

[Partnership stats between Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis]

In the 2nd T20I against Australia, Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs put together a total of 126 runs off just 57 deliveries to carry South Africa’s momentum from 57/3 to 183/4, helping Proteas pack 218 runs at the end of 20 overs.

In the 3rd T20I, again the duo shared 61 runs between them from just 29 deliveries to swing the momentum from 49/3 to 110/4 inside 4.5 overs. Brevis made a 26-ball 53 while Stubbs scored a modest 25 off 23.

Conclusion

The occasions when this duo took charge of South Africa’s innings are scanty. Yet, the sense of responsibility, the mature takeover and the firing ability between these two is for sure a warning shot for all the other teams in the T20 World Cup.

With both Stubbs and Brevis in red-hot form, both the youngsters are almost in line to get a call in the Playing XI of the mega ICC event, and if the oar of the ship lies in the hands of these able-minded people again, maybe, South Africa can finally get rid of the ‘C’ tag and avenge 2024.