De Kock helps Royals win

Quinton de Kock hit a boundary blitz to help the Barbados Royals beat the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by nine wickets in the fourth match of the Caribbean Republic Bank Premier Cricket League (CPL) at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in North Bay, Antigua.

The Falcons struck out under blue skies but struggled against tight pitching, conceding two runs on the power play and then two more in quick succession to finish the game at 47/4, making it difficult to achieve a competitive total.

After scoring 50* in the Falcons’ season opener against St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, 17-year-old Jewel Andrew once again put in an impressive performance, scoring 48 points in a 35-ball fightback, including 3 fours and 2 sixes, to help the Falcons post a score of 145/9 in search of their first win of the tournament.

Powerful knocks from de Kock and fellow opener Rahkeem Cornwall saw the Royals take a commanding lead of 76 runs in the first six overs without losing a single run.

De Kock was in fine form throughout the innings, his batting becoming increasingly fluid and bolder as the innings progressed. He ended the innings in style, first hitting Mohammad Amir out to the field for four, then hitting the Pakistani fast bowler back over the top for a six to finish with an unbeaten 87 off just 45 balls, giving the Royals a remarkable win in their first match of the 2024 season.

The Royals had great hitting and pitching. They also made some great catches and displayed tight ground defense, further limiting the Falcons’ offense.

Jason Holder’s knock was impressive. He bowled 12 dot balls in four overs and took two wickets for 21 runs. Spin bowlers Theekshana and Wellalage also struck for the Falcons.

De Kock received the Man of the Match award. Royals captain Rovman Powell explained after the match that the youngsters in the team always stand out from the batting skills of the South African left-hander and he was happy with his team’s debut match. “The players played really well and were well prepared in the first match, which doesn’t happen often. It was great. Once Queenie joined the team, things got better.”