Tristan Stubbs honoured by NMU with top sport award after 'crazy' year: 'I was pleasantly surprised'

Proteas batter Tristan Stubbs' whirlwind year was highlighted on Tuesday as he scooped up the Nelson Mandela University's (NMU) Sportsman of the Year award. 

Stubbs has been a B.Com student at the Gqeberha institution since 2019 and has always imagined himself in the hallowed halls of former sports stars.

"In my first year of varsity, when I saw those photos, I remember thinking to myself, I would really like to get myself up on this wall. So receiving this award is a massive privilege," said Stubbs in a press release.

"It did come as a surprise because, due to the amount of cricket I have played this year, I haven't been at the varsity much. But when I was informed of the award, I was very pleasantly surprised."

The 22-year-old made his Proteas debut in June, earning his national call-up against India in Delhi.

Stubbs has since played 13 T20Is for the Proteas and was part of South Africa's campaign at the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia.

The Proteas failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup and it proved a serious learning curve for Stubbs.

"There's a lot more to every game of cricket at a World Cup than you realise," said Stubbs, who only played four matches and scored 31 runs.

"You have different pressures and it's the highest standard of our game, so I'm glad I've experienced that." 

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It's been a rapid season for Stubbs, who also made his Indian Premier League debut for the Mumbai Indians and starred in the Hundred for the Manchester Originals.

In September, Stubbs was in high demand at the inaugural SA20 auction as he became the most expensive player bought. 

Stubbs, who had a base price of R175 000, was