• 'Stubbs sees it as a great opportunity'

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    Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince says Tristan Stubbs jumped at the chance to bat at No 3 in Rawalpindi.

    Stubbs returned to his most successful position for the second Test against Pakistan after Wiaan Mulder was dropped, coming to the crease in the ninth over on Tuesday following Ryan Rickelton’s dismissal.

    The 25-year-old, who has battled for form recently, scored a determined 68* off 184 balls to guide the Proteas to 185-4 in reply to Pakistan’s 333.

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    “He sees it as a great opportunity,” said Prince. “We’ve always seen him as a player who is decent against spin, and he saw the opportunity as one he could grab with both hands.

    “We’ve seen his stats in the different batting positions, and he has a very good average at No 3. He likes it in the position, but whether he’ll continue there will be determined by where we play and the conditions that we face.”

    Stubbs shared a 113-run partnership with Tony de Zorzi, who scored 55 batting at No 4.

    “Tony is a really good player of spin. He sweeps well, uses his feet very well, and because of his ability against spin, we don’t necessarily want him at No 3,” Prince explained. “You also want to stagger the left-handers and right-handers, which helps us with the balance.”

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    Prince praised Stubbs for his batting approach in tough conditions.

    “Pakistan has a quality spin attack, so you need to have clarity on what your scoring options will be. Credit to Tristan as he’s been strong on defence. He’s been positive with his footwork and when he wanted to hit the ball in the air, he was committed in doing so.”

    Photo: Sameer Ali/Getty Images

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    Simon Borchardt