South African batter Tristan Stubbs joins Hampshire Hawks for the Vitality Blast

South African batter Tristan Stubbs has joined Hampshire Hawks for the 2026 Vitality Blast.

The 25-year-old has played 71 times for his country since debuting in 2022 and has featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), SA20, and The Hundred.

He has scored 3,188 runs in 154 T20 matches with an average of 32.30 and an impressive strike rate of 142.95.

In his last two seasons in the IPL with GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals, Stubbs has scored over 600 runs at a mammoth strike rate of 170 whilst averaging 52.

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No stranger

This season will be Stubbs’ first in the Blast, but he is no stranger to English shores or Utilita Bowl.

In July 2022, he featured for South Africa in the third IT20, which the Proteas won by 90 runs, and in the third ODI at Utilita Bowl in September 2025, where England ran out victors by 342 runs.

Stubbs has also taken part in The Hundred and scored 157 runs for Manchester Originals in 2022.

He will return to the competition with Southern Brave in 2026 as one of the team’s direct signings.

He recently won the SA20 for a third time in four years with Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who are led by former Hampshire men’s Head Coach Adi Birrell.

His 63* off 41 deliveries was a captain’s innings as he and Matthew Breetzke shared a partnership of 114 to beat Pretoria Capitals in the final at Cape Town.

Hugely talented

Giles White, director of cricket for Hampshire, said: “Tristan is a hugely talented player with strong connections to the club through his time at Delhi Capitals and his relationships with our coaches, past and present.

“He’s a wonderful addition and having him involved is a massive boost for both our squad and the competition as a whole.

“We can’t wait to see him light up the Bowl.”

Internationally, Stubbs has been capped 42 times in IT20s, having debuted against India in Delhi in 2022.

Since then, he has scored 822 runs in 36 innings, with two fifties.

He has also featured in 14 Test matches, reaching three figures twice, and 15 ODIs.

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