NEW DELHI: If Tristan Stubbs wasn’t sending bowlers into the stands with his brute power, the 24-year-old might have been executing push passes, flicks, or drag flicks on the hockey turf. Had he not chosen cricket, Stubbs would likely have pursued a career in hockey – following in his father’s footsteps.
Tristan’s father Chris Stubbs was a well-known name in South Africa’s hockey circuit. A former provincial player, Chris never got the chance to represent the national team. Despite that, he never discouraged his son from choosing cricket over hockey.
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In fact, Tristan began his sporting journey with hockey, but the allure of fame and financial stability eventually became key reasons for Chris to guide him towards the gentleman’s game. Having experienced the struggles and limitations of a hockey career firsthand, Chris didn’t want his son to face the same hurdles.
Tristan grew up watching his father dominate with a hockey stick, and naturally picked up the sport. But over time, Chris gradually nudged him towards cricket — a move that would shape his future.
“There’s no money in hockey. Hockey is hard work and it’s fun, but it’s not a career,” said Chris, who was watching his son practice from the stands ahead of the Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com. Tristian plays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025.
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Chris still regrets not making it to the senior national team, but one milestone he proudly checked off was playing against India.
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“I played provincial hockey, but I wasn’t good enough to play for South Africa. One of my biggest games was against India. They came to South Africa in the ’90s, when they first came back — when we came out of isolation in ’92. I played for Southern Transvaal and played against India. Southern Transvaal were quite a good team in South Africa. It was a warm-up game. And then, when they came on their tour to play against South Africa, they played a warm-up game. They played a game against Southern Transvaal.
“India crushed us 5-0,” Chris said with a big laugh.
The dream of representing his country remained unfulfilled for Chris, but he hoped his son Tristan would go further — wearing the national jersey with the country’s flag proudly on his chest.
HOW HOCKEY HELPED TRISTIAN STUBBS
Chris wanted his son to begin his journey with hockey — to build strength, timing, and ball control — and then channel that same brute power and hand-eye coordination into cricket.
And that’s exactly what Tristan is doing now. He’s become a nightmare for bowlers across the globe.
Stubbs walks in, picks the length in a flash, and sends the ball soaring into the stands. Pulls, sweeps, reverse sweeps, scoops, paddle sweeps, straight drives — you name it, they’re all in his arsenal.
“Obviously, he always wanted to play cricket. Hockey was never really a thing. He played hockey because he loved it, but he loved cricket as well. So he wanted to, you know, basically go to university to try and play cricket — to try and play provincial cricket — and that was his main aim: to play cricket. Hockey was just to keep fit and have fun. He enjoyed hockey, and he was good at it, but he really wanted to play cricket from an early age,” Chris said.
“Playing both hockey and cricket helped him a lot. Some of his sweep shots clearly came from his reverse sticks. His reverse shots come from hockey. He was always on the side of the field when we played, and he grew up with a hockey stick in one hand and a ball in the other — he always had a ball in his hand,” Chris added.
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