BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Quinton de Kock delivered a sensational century on Saturday, guiding the Barbados Royals to a commanding 32-run victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The win at Kensington Oval lifted the Royals to the top of the CPL table, pushing the Warriors to second place.
Opening the innings, de Kock smashed 115 off 68 balls, anchoring the Royals to a formidable 205 for six in their 20 overs. In response, the Amazon Warriors could not mount a serious challenge, managing 173 for five by the end of their allotted overs.
De Kock’s dominant innings, the second century of this year’s CPL, earned him Player of the Match honors as he single-handedly took charge on a pitch where many struggled to score freely.
A quickfire contribution of 22
His opening partner, Kadeem Alleyne, gave a quickfire contribution of 22 off just nine balls, hitting two boundaries and two sixes in a brief but impactful cameo. However, Alleyne’s dismissal came when he misjudged a shot off Dwaine Pretorius, picking out Shimron Hetmyer at cover point.
De Kock took over from there, crafting a vital 82-run stand with Alick Athanaze, who added a modest 16 from 19 balls. De Kock’s fireworks began in the seventh over, smashing Shamar Joseph for a six and two boundaries as the Royals surged ahead.
The South African brought up his half-century off 34 balls, accelerating the Royals’ run rate. Even though the team lost wickets quickly—Athanaze, Rovman Powell (7), and David Miller (1)—de Kock’s aggressive batting kept the pressure on.
By the 14th over, de Kock had punished Raymon Reifer with two sixes and moved into the 90s shortly after. He reached his hundred in the 18th over with a single to long on, after facing just 60 deliveries.
Powerful knock
In the final over, de Kock added two more sixes but was finally dismissed by Reifer, caught at long on. His powerful knock included nine sixes and eight fours. Jason Holder added to the late innings surge, smashing 28 off just 10 balls, including three sixes and a four.
Reifer finished with 3-50, while Pretorius claimed 2-27 for the Warriors.
Chasing a steep target of over 10 runs an over, the Warriors were never able to recover from the early loss of two wickets. Shai Hope led the scoring with 40, while contributions came from Moeen Ali (33), Keemo Paul (30*), and Shimron Hetmyer (28). However, none of them could convert their starts into a match-winning knock.
Wickets fell regularly, and the Warriors found themselves in trouble at 126 for five by the 15th over. Keshav Maharaj was the standout bowler for the Royals, taking 3-42, while Holder also chipped in with 2-32.
