SA20 Season 4 Preview: Tristan Stubbs steps into the unknown in a familiar environment with an eye on the T20 World Cup | Cricket News
Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Faf du Plessis and Aiden Markram will be in the lead when the fourth season of SA20 begins on Friday December 26. In the absence of the traditional Boxing Day Test and a home Test series, Cricket South Africa (CSA) hopes the SA20 schedule, with the T20 World Cup less than a fortnight away, will help provide the necessary finishing touches.Of the six names mentioned above and those who gathered at a Cape Town hotel last week, only one will take on the captaincy duties for the first time. With Markram’s transfer to the Durban Super Giants for R14 million, this has created a leadership hole within the two-time SA20 champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC).
Tristan Stubbs, 25, stepped up. The local boy, born in Gqeberha, will carry the hopes of the Orange Army. The idea of going “local” is obvious given that the SEC has more experienced leaders such as Jonny Bairstow and Quinton de Kock in the team.“We’ve had three pretty successful seasons under Aiden. So the Sunrisers as a team have a mandate to enjoy the month, play as hard as we can, and it’ll be pretty much like that. We’ll play hard on the field, compete for everything, but we’ll just enjoy it,” Stubbs told the JioStar newsroom ahead of SA20 Season 4.The local contingent and flavor gets even stronger with Matthew Breetzke, Anrich Nortje, Lutho Sipamla and Marco Jansen hoping to win three titles in four years for the Eastern Cape faithful.
Tristan Stubbs will captain Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the fourth season of the SA20. (Sportzpics)
“One of the challenges I give to the local boys is: let’s really make sure we show the boys overseas what South Africa is all about,” Stubbs said in an Instagram video shared by the franchise. “Let’s make sure we play as hard as we can on the field, but off the field we show what our country has to offer.”He reiterated this challenge to the players a few days after the competition.“We have a lot of local boys who grew up in PE (Port Elizabeth) and live in PE. And I can’t explain to people what it means to play at St. George’s (Park) when you’re a local boy. And hopefully that will fuel the team and motivate everyone to do what we did in the first three years and hopefully match that kind of intensity on the field,” he said.The new SEC skipper has a lot to prove in the upcoming edition – not just as captain but also as a batter at the top of the order. With 301 points, he was their top scorer in the second season and seventh overall. For the Proteas, he scored two Test centuries, his first ODI ton and was their second highest scorer in T20Is.2025 was quite the opposite. For the SEC, he scored 232 points, third-most for the franchise and 14th overall. For South Africa, he scored just 259 runs in six Test matches, produced 100 runs fewer than the previous year in ODIs and his average in T20Is fell from 35.91 to 21.71.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Tristan Stubbs, Pretoria Capitals captain Keshav Maharaj, Paarl Royals captain David Miller, SA20 League commissioner Graeme Smith, MI Cape Town’s Kagiso Rabada, Joburg Super Kings captain Faf Du Plessis and Durban Super Giants captain Aiden Markram at the SA20 captain’s day ahead of the start of Season 4. (Sportzpics)
One reason for these lower returns could be attributed to his constant shuffling in the batting order from anywhere between No. 3 and n°6. However, he would be delighted with the recent performances in Pakistan and India. He saw highs of 76 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi and 94 against India in Guwahati. These positive returns, albeit in the longest format, bode well for Stubbs and the national team with everyone keeping an eye on the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, starting February 7. South Africa will play their first match less than two weeks after the SA20 final (January 25).“It’s great that we’re playing T20 cricket literally until a few days before the World Cup starts. But I don’t think you want to put too much energy into your SA20 teams and ask the guys to worry about the World Cup. It’s pretty much right after that,” said South Africa’s T20I captain Aiden Markram, who will steer the DSG ship in the upcoming season.“They are two completely separate events and I think it is important that the players treat it that way. It’s an exciting month. It’s a fun month in South Africa and it’s a month the guys must really enjoy on and off the field.”“And when we get to the World Cup, the guys will have had a lot of T20 matches under their belt. So hopefully there will be good confidence and good form that we can move forward and take care of the World Cup when we arrive on Indian shores,” he added.
Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Faf Du Plessis and Aiden Markram at the SA20 Captain’s Day. (Sportzpics)
Kagiso Rabadawho is part of defending champions MI Cape Town, echoed some of the thoughts shared by Markram.“It’s a fantastic opportunity to play cricket and get used to the pace of T20 cricket. We haven’t really played T20 cricket this year. So yes, it’s going to be a great tournament,” said the seamer who missed the recent India series due to a rib injury.“I think the teams this season have balanced each other very well. Over the previous three seasons, the management and those responsible for team selection understood what it took to do well in South Africa with the different conditions across the country.“So, those are the challenges, playing well in different parts of the country. And as a bowler, how you have to adapt to that. The batters are looking strong and it’s really exciting. So, it’s going to be fantastic preparation, I guess, if they get picked for the World Cup,” Rabada added.QUICK FACTS
The fourth season of SA20 will begin on December 26. (Sportzpics)
The super giants of DurbanHome: Kingsmead, DurbanLast season: SixthCaptain: Aiden MarkramTeam: Marques Ackerman, Nor Ahmad, David Bingham, Eathan Bosch, Jos Buttler, Gerald Civil, Devon Conway, Tony the Zorzi, Daryn Dupavillon, Evan Jones, Kwena Mapehaka, Aiden Markram (captain), Sunil Norinary. Simelane, Gybert Wore, David Wise, Kane WilliamsonJohannesburg Super KingsHome: The Wanderers, JohannesburgLast season: Lost EliminatorCaptain: Faf du PlessisTeam: Jarren Bacher, Nandre Burger, Matthew de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (captain), Donovan Ferreira, Dian Forrester, Richard Gleeson, Akeal Hosein, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Wiaan Mulder, Shubham Ranjane, Rilee Rossouw, Janco Smit, Steve Stolk, Prenelan Subrayen, Imran Tahir, Neil Timmers, Reece Topley, Jorich van Schalkwyk, James Vince, Daniel WorrallMI Cape TownHome: Newlands, Cape TownLast season: CHAMPIONSCaptain: Rachid KhanTeam: Squad: Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Reeza Hendricks, Karim Janat, Thomas Kaber, Rashid Khan (captain), Dan Lategan, George Linde, Tristan Luus, Tom Moores, Dane Piedt, Nicholas Pooran, Dwaine Pretorius, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, Jason Smith, Jacques Snyman, Rassie van der Dussen, Tiaan van VuurenRoyal pearlsHome: Boland Park, PaarlLast season: Lost in qualifying 2Captain: David MillerTeam: Ottneil Baartman. Rew, Asa Tribe, Bloody, Birth, Birthday.Pretoria CapitalsHome: SuperSport Park, CenturionLast season: FifthCaptain: Keshav MaharajTeam: Dewald Brevis, Roston Chase, Jordan Cox, Junaid Dawood, Keith Dudgeon, Connor Esterhuizen, Shai Hope, Wihan Lubbe, Keshav Maharaj (captain), Sibonelo Makhanya, Lungi Ngidi, Bryce Parsons, Gideon Peters, Meeka-eel Prince, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Will Smeed, Daniel Smith, Lizaad Williams, Codie YusufSunrisers Eastern CapeHome: St George Park, GqeberhaLast season: FinalistCaptain: Tristan StubbsTeam: Jonny Bairstow, Matthew Breetzke, James Coles, Quinton de Kock, AM Ghazanfar, Lewis Gregory, Jordan Hermann, Marco Jansen, CJ King, JP King, Patrick Kruger, Adam Milne, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Tharindu Ratnayake, Lutho Sipamla, Tristan Stubbs (captain), Beyers Swanepoel, Mitchell van Buuren, Chris Wood.Catch all the action from SA20 Season 4, from December 26, 2025 to January 25, 2026, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.
