Cricket | Stubbs Gives His Mom The Perfect Birthday Present At Vibrant St George's Park
The literal meaning being “Here comes a thing!” but when the famous St George’s Park brass brand along with the crowd starts chanting it, it usually means “Here comes a big thing!”
"Hie kom n ding! Hie kom ‘n ding!"
And for them, on another boisterous night at the home of the back-to-back Betway SA20 champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Tristan Stubbs was the main thing.
Stubbs loves playing at St George’s Park. It doesn’t matter whether it's for the Warriors, Sunrisers or the Proteas. And St George’s Park loves him even more.
And last night he was in the green-and-gold of the national team taking the Proteas over the line with three wickets to spare in a thrilling run-chase to level the series ahead of the Highveld matches.
It’s been a dream of his since he was a little boy growing up in Knysna - just 260km outside Gqeberha - and only intensified since his high school days at Grey PE just a five-minute drive away from South Africa’s oldest Test venue.
To amplify the emotion of the occasion, it was also Stubbs’ mother’s birthday and his entire family had made the trip up the Garden Route to watch Stubbs.
"Normally there's a whole bunch of them [his friends and family], probably I reckon 30 to 35 of them," Stubbs said.
"Before I met the team I went and said hello to everyone at the house that they're staying at."
"They come through normally once a year for the SA20 and they've made a trip now. It's my mom's birthday too, so it's sort of a celebration."
Mandy and Chris Stubbs, parents of Tristan Stubbs.
Having nearest and dearest around can be a source of comfort, but the added expectation of wanting to perform for those closest also adds its own unique pressure.
"I was just trying to breathe," said Stubbs. "It's my favourite place to play cricket (St George’s Park) and I was nervous, proper nervous, so I was just trying to control my breathing."
Stubbs’ moment of destiny loomed large. T20 World Champions India had only managed 124/6, but had fought back gamely through leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s magical spell of 5/17, which reduced the Proteas to 86/7, leaving the home side with 39 runs to get off the final 26 deliveries.
"They both [Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi] were doing just enough to beat you on either side," he said.
"It wasn't easy to come in and just rotate even, let alone take them on. They are two of the best spinners in the world so when they are on, it's really tough and they got the better of us in the middle there by just outskilling us.”
SA20 has, though, unearthed a fresh young group of South African cricketers who do not fear the pressure-filled situations. Along with Stubbs is Joburg Super Kings star Gerald Coetzee.
Having battled with injuries these past 12 months, which saw Coetzee miss the entire SA20 Season 2, the 24-year-old knows all about overcoming obstacles.
It was his determination and a couple of big hits that filled Stubbs with the belief that they could get the job done, which they duly did with an unbroken 42-run stand off 20 balls.
Coetzee smashed 19 not out off 9 balls (2x4, 1x6) and Stubbs held his nerve with a superb undefeated 47 (41 balls, 7x4) that sent the ecstatic St George’s Park crowd into raptures.
"He (Coetzee) walked in and he said straight away we can win this. G really came and played an innings to help that out," Stubbs said.
"I believed it all the time. Fortunately, the run rate never got away from us.
"Once we lost the wickets, I had 30 in mind off the last three. We were always two hits away from being back to run-a-ball, and then we had the crowd behind us which was just amazing.
"It was really nice to get the team over the line and be there, not out at the end. I think as someone who bats in the middle, that's your whole goal when chasing, get the team over the line but do it by being not out at the end."
Proteas, India, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, BETWAY SA20, SA20, Tristan Stubbs, St George’s Park brass brand