EXCLUSIVE: Tristan Stubbs was a schoolboy during Sandpapergate — now he's ready to face the Aussies himself

Proteas and Warriors batting star Tristan Stubbs was keen to spend some time facing the red ball at Newlands this week.

When Tristan Stubbs walked out to bat at Newlands on Thursday morning, Table Mountain draped in grey cloud overhead, the memories came flooding back. The last time he stood in the middle of this hallowed ground, he was drenched in champagne and buried under confetti, having led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a third Betway SA20 title.

"Yeah, that was the last time I was here in Jan or Feb, so good to be back here," Stubbs told exclusively IOL Sport.

The circumstances could hardly have been more different. Where Newlands had been packed to the rafters that Sunday afternoon, this time the sound of ball on willow echoed off empty seats — a quiet, unglamorous first-class fixture rather than a title decider.

But for Stubbs, it mattered just as much. He had not faced a red ball in the middle since last year's Test triumph in Guwahati, the 408-run victory that sealed the Proteas' first Test series win in India in 25 years.