Tristan Stubbs was the star for South Africa in the 2nd ODI versus Ireland at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Tristan Stubbs scored a valiant unbeaten 112 from 81 balls to help the Proteas score 343/4 in their 50 overs. Tristan Stubbs was at his best and made his presence felt. His aggressive stroke play helped SA stack up runs aplenty.
Tristan Stubbs’ knock consisted of eight fours and three sixes (SR: 138.27). Tristan Stubbs shared a 92-run stand alongside Wiaan Mulder.
In six ODIs, he owns 228 runs at 57. This was his maiden ODI hundred (50s: 1). In the ongoing series versus Ireland, he owns 191 runs from two matches. This was his successive fifty-plus score. 222 of Tristan Stubbs runs have come at neutral venues.
Pitch and Toss
Pitch Report: We are on the same pitch, pitch no. 5. It looks nice and fresh. It’s even and the ball will come on nicely to the bat. You would want to keep the ball in and around the off-stump. There’s enough on this surface to work for as a bowler. Getting forward is a good ploy on this surface, reckon Niall O’Brien and Vernon Philander
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat with no changes in the playing XI. Ireland skipper Paul Stirling bowling first also decided to play with the same team from the 1st ODI.
Tristan Stubbs’s maiden ODI ton guides SA to 343 in 50 overs
Tristan Stubbs smashed a maiden one-day international century as South Africa routed Ireland by 174 runs to clinch their three-match series with a game to spare on Friday. The 24-year-old Tristan Stubbs made an undefeated 112 off 81 balls with eight fours and three sixes as the Proteas piled up 343-4 in their 50 overs.
Tristan Stubbs made 79 in that match and was merciless again on Friday, reaching three figures from 75 deliveries as the Irish attack wilted despite using seven bowlers.
Tristan Stubbs shared a 103-run partnership for the third wicket with the recalled Kyle Verreynne and 92 for the fourth wicket with Wiaan Mulder. Verreynne made 67 from 64 balls with Mulder speeding to 43 off 34 deliveries while at the top of the order Ryan Rickelton hit 40 to add to his 91 from the opening fixture.
South Africa had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss and after a quiet start, both Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton started finding the boundaries. The 10th over of the innings, bowled by Craig Young, saw both the openers hit a six each before Bavuma rounded it off with a boundary as the run rate went past six for the first time.
South Africa started steady after winning the toss, with Ryan Rickelton carrying on from where he left off in the first ODI and Bavuma looking sharp after getting out cheaply in that game. Bavuma shuffled down the crease to flick Hume through midwicket in the fourth over for South Africa’s first boundary, and Rickelton then flicked Adair over midwicket for two boundaries in the next over.
Bavuma then slapped Craig Young in front of point before coming down the track to Adair to lift him over mid-off. The two cashed in on the final over of the powerplay, with Rickelton hitting Young over long-off for six before Bavuma flicked him over midwicket for another.
Bavuma then got injured in the 12th over as he dived to complete a single. He received treatment on his left elbow and resumed at the non-striker’s end, but retired hurt two balls later, ending the opening stand at 68. Rickelton slapped Campher through the off side for another boundary before offering Campher a return catch to fall ten runs short of what would have been back-to-back half-centuries.
Van der Dussen and Verreynne then took over, as they both picked up boundaries off Campher. Verreynne survived a stumping chance on 11, with Doheny slow to take the bails off as McBrine sent one down the leg side. The two brought up their half-century stand before Hoey got van der Dussen to inside-edge a wrong’un onto the stumps off his foot for his maiden ODI wicket.
Against the run of play, Bavuma retired hurt after an injury to his wrist and that brought Rassie van der Dussen to the crease. However, the other set batter was also back in the pavilion immediately as Rickelton chipped one back at the bowler to depart for 40.
The two new batters didn’t take long to rebuild though as they hit a boundary each off Curtis Campher and were slowly involved in a solid stand again. Another set batter had to depart without cashing in as van der Dussen inside-edged one onto the stumps. Kyle Verreynne, who got an opportunity in place of Tony de Zorzi, made full use of it by bringing up a half century.
Tristan Stubbs, who set himself by this time, looked in good touch as well as the South Africans piled on the runs. The youngster started opening up by this time and brought up a stylish fifty off just 45 balls. Ireland sent back Verreynne immediately after he had raised over 100 alongside Tristan Stubbs and even though there were a couple of quiet overs post that, South Africa turned on the heat in the final few overs.
Graham Hume was clobbered for two sixes and a four in a single over by Tristan Stubbs and Mark Adair conceded three boundaries in his over that also saw the youngster bring up a thrilling 75-ball ton. Adair came back strong in the final over of the innings but South Africa had made 61 from the final five to pretty much bat Ireland out of this contest.
Tristan Stubbs came in to bat in the 24th over with South Africa 136 for 2, although he was effectively batting at No. 5 with Temba Bavuma having retired hurt after injuring his left elbow. Tristan Stubbs started briskly and his partner Kyle Verreynne picked up the pace after he had been part of a 58-run stand with Rassie van der Dussen.
Verreynne, drafted into the XI for the injured Tony de Zorzi, took on anything short, as he pulled Gavin Hoey for four before playing a short-arm jab through midwicket off Mark Adair. Two balls later, Tristan Stubbs also pulled Adair for his first boundary. Then, in the 32nd over, Verreynne again pulled Adair for four to bring up his half-century as well as the fifty-run stand. As Ireland looked at different options for a breakthrough, Tristan Stubbs punched Hume through cover before playing a back-foot punch over cover for six off a Hoey half-tracker.
The duo put away a couple more short balls before Verreynne danced down the track to McBrine only to miss the ball and be stumped. There was a period of 28 balls without a boundary that followed, before Stubbs scooped Hume in the 43rd over to get to 70. Wiaan Mulder put a couple of short balls away in the next two overs Hume conceded 18 in the 46th, with Stubbs accounting for 17 of them. He hit him over midwicket for two sixes, with a flicked four sandwiched in between.
Tristan Stubbs got an outside edge for four in the 48th to take him to 99 before a single brought up the century. He hit two more boundaries either side of Mulder clearing long-on and then picking out the fielder there to fall for 43. Adair gave away just five runs in the 50th over, but South Africa already seemed to have more than enough runs in the tank. This was only the third time in men’s ODIs that the top six of a team had each made 35 or more.
Lizaad Williams 3-fer gives SA huge 174 runs over Ireland
Their authority on the contest was pretty much rubber stamped the moment Lungi Ngidi and Lizaad Williams struck once each very early to remove the Ireland openers. Williams, who picked four wickets in the opening ODI, ran riot again as he added two more to his tally in a single over to cripple the Irish. At 44/4, there was pretty much no way back for the chasing side as the wickets kept tumbling.
Ottniel Baartman made that 50/5 and even Andile Phehlukwayo, with his gentle medium pace, caused problems. A second successive batting collapse is not something Ireland wanted, especially after that tough outing on the field but that’s what was unfolding. Six South African bowlers managed to bowl on the day and every single one of them picked up at least one wicket. Quite remarkably, the last three batters added 73 together for Ireland as they managed to drag the score from 85/7, all the way to 169 all out, that only delayed the inevitable.
Williams, fresh off a four-for in the first ODI, gave South Africa their first breakthrough in the second over, as Andy Balbirnie got an inside edge that deflected onto the stumps off his pads.
Paul Stirling started the next over by creaming Lungi Ngidi through cover before the fast bowler got a length ball to jag in sharply from outside off to crash into leg stump. Harry Tector and Curtis Campher rebuilt with a run-a-ball stand of 37, before Williams struck twice in two balls, getting Campher to edge behind before trapping Stephen Doheny in front. Doheny reviewed only for ball-tracking to show the ball clipping leg stump for umpire’s call.
Ottniel Baartman then invited Tector to drive away from his body and induced an edge that Rickelton gobbled up. Ireland had lost half their side inside the 10th over, with only 50 runs on the board.
George Dockrell then chipped Andile Phehlukwayo to mid-on in the 13th over as Ireland slipped towards another thrashing. Adair hit two fours and a six before he holed out trying to clear the ropes again to give Mulder his first wicket. Andy McBrine and Gavin Hoey stuck around, with the young leg spinner hitting Mulder over cover for six to take Ireland past 100 in the 22nd over.
They picked up a boundary each off Bjorn Fortuin before McBrine missed a reverse-sweep off the spinner to be trapped lbw. Hoey got a top edge for another four before holing out to deep midwicket off Ngidi next ball. Hume and Young then put on 52 to delay the inevitable, with Hume hitting two sixes and Young grabbing three fours and a six before Fortuin wrapped up the win for South Africa.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Temba Bavuma the winning skipper said : Little bit sore (talking about his elbow injury), we will know more in a couple of days time. It was very mature and clinical (the performance) and it was a big improvement from the first game and the kind of performances we would like to see.
We spoke about the first 10 overs and swing and obviously with Stubbs and Verreynne taking it deep and then a nice finish towards the end. On all fronts, the guys have put up their hand and showed that they can do the job and that is what you want in a team. Want to have depth and it also puts pressure on the incoming guys as well.
Paul Stirling the losing skipper said : McBrine did well with the ball to bowl economically and get through 10 overs, but not much else to take away. Once again we couldn’t take wickets in that middle period, tough luck. Don’t think our process changed too much (with the bat), it nipped around in the first 10 overs. We got 2 days rest and hopefully come back better on Monday. We are playing such a good side and we want to make sure our energy levels are good.
Tristan Stubbs Player of the Match for 112 runs said : Thought the first game myself and Ricks (Rickleton) got out back to back and today I was a bit more focused after Kyle (Verreynne) got out. They bowled quite well and the wicket was a bit slow in the first innings. They made us hit to the bigger side and the rotation of strike helped us get through the middle period.
It’s 2-0 to South Africa so far. Unfortunately for Ireland, it was the same old story of top order collapse. Lizaad Williams picked 3 of the top 5 wickets and when you lose 5 inside the first 10 overs of a mammoth chase, the game is pretty much done and dusted there. Ireland found no road to recovery and if it wasn’t for the last-wicket partnership of 52 runs (the highest of Ireland’s innings), the scorecard would have looked much worse.
Once again it was a classic case of Ireland batters struggling to see off the new ball without too much of damage. That said, South Africa won half the battle when they recorded the highest ODI score at the venue, and their bowlers ensured yet another thumping win with a thorough professional performance.
Tristan Stubbs’ maiden ODI century set South Africa up for a 174-run win that gave them an unassailable 2-0 series lead against Ireland. Stubbs followed up his maiden ODI fifty in the last game with an unbeaten 81-ball 112 that powered South Africa to 343 for 4 after they won the toss in Abu Dhabi. Lizaad Williams then picked up three wickets, all with the new ball, effectively shutting Ireland out of the contest within the first 10 overs of their chase.
Ireland slid to 117 for 9 and it took the third-highest 10th-wicket stand in Ireland’s history, between Graham Hume and Craig Young, to take them to 169. The Proteas made regular inroads before tailenders Craig Young and Graham Hume put on an entertaining last-wicket partnership of 52. South Africa fast bowler Lizaad Williams, who claimed a career-best 4-32 on Wednesday, took 3-36 from five overs. The three-game series concludes at the same Abu Dhabi venue on Monday.