West Indies ‘played better’ than Proteas, admits Tristan Stubbs

Proteas batter Tristan Stubbs admitted they had been outplayed after the national team fell in a seven-wicket defeat to West Indies in the first match of their T20 International series in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday night.

Sent in to bat, the Proteas were restricted to 42/5 after eight overs, placing them on the back foot.

Stubbs led a recovery, however, smashing a T20 International career best of 76 runs off 42 balls, and he was well supported by Patrick Kruger who contributed 44 off 32.

They shared 71 runs for the sixth wicket, carrying their team to 174/7 from their 20 overs.

West Indies innings

Chasing 175 to win, West Indies got their innings off to a cracking start, with Shai Hope (51) and Alick Athanaze (40) combining in an 84-run stand for the first wicket.

Nicholas Pooran then stuck his heels in at the crease, racing to 65 runs off just 26 deliveries in an innings which featured seven sixes.

Pooran guided the hosts to 176/3 as they coasted to a seven-wicket victory with 13 balls to spare.

Ottneil Baartman was the best of the Proteas bowlers, taking 2/30, while 18-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka grabbed 1/25, taking his first international wicket by removing Windies captain Rovman Powell.

Challenging conditions

With the match having been delayed for an hour due to rain, middle-order batter Stubbs admitted they had not read the conditions as well as the home side.

“I think it was a really good wicket. They just played better than us,” he said.

“We probably didn’t identify the conditions early enough, and that first six overs put us behind for the rest of the game.”

Bittersweet performance

Though he was pleased to get some runs on the board, after making only his second T20 International half-century, Stubbs said it was a bittersweet performance.

“It’s satisfying to contribute to the team but it’s never nice to lose with three overs to spare,” he said.

South Africa will aim to level the series when they face West Indies in the second of three T20 Internationals at Brian Lara Stadium on Sunday night (9pm SA time).