Franchise Cricket

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South Africa batter Dewald Brevis has become the most expensive player in the SA20 auction as he was bought by Pretoria Capitals for 16.5m rand (almost £700,000).

Brevis, 22, is regarded as one of the world's most exciting young talents and was the subject of a fierce bidding war between the Capitals, Paarl Royals, Joburg Super Kings and his former franchise, MI Cape Town.

He is currently playing for South Africa in the ongoing white-ball series against England and is in fine form having made a blistering 125 from 56 balls in a T20 against Australia in August.

Meanwhile, England's leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson went unsold alongside former all-rounder Moeen Ali and batter Jordan Cox.

Seamer Reece Topley was picked up by the Super Kings and batter Dan Lawrence was signed by the Royals.

Tristan Stubbs previously held the record for the most expensive player (approx. £390,000) and that number was also broken earlier in the day as there was plenty of interest in the Proteas' all-rounder Aiden Markram, who eventually ended up with Durban Super Giants for approx. £590,000.

Capitals had the most to spend as they had only retained three players including England all-rounder Will Jacks. Under new coach Sourav Ganguly, they also added South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj and seamer Lungi Ngidi, alongside England quicks Craig Overton and Saqib Mahmood.

Other signings included former South Africa skipper Quinton de Kock and quick bowler Anrich Nortje moving to Sunrisers Eastern Cape,

541 players entered the auction for just 84 spaces, with 25 of those available for overseas players.

The fourth edition of the tournament will take place between 26 December and 26 January. It is an earlier time slot than previous tournaments to avoid a clash with the T20 World Cup in February and March.

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Barbados Royals beat Saint Lucia Kings by 27 runs for their first win of this year's Caribbean Premier League.

Royals posted an imposing 191-5 from their 20 overs with Rovman Powell striking an unbeaten 41 from 17 balls and Australia's Chris Green adding a late cameo of 25 not out from 14.

After a strong platform set by Brandon King's 42 and a 21-ball 39 from Kadeem Alleyne, the Kings fought back.

South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi took three wickets and the Royals were struggling at 120-5 in the 16th over before Green and Powell's unbroken stand of 71 from 28 balls.

Green continued to impress with the ball, removing Johnson Charles and Roston Chase early as the Kings slipped to 61-5.

They were revived by Tim David's 44 from 28 balls but Royals closed out a comprehensive win with three wickets each for Daniel Sams and Ramon Simmonds, who tore through the middle and lower order to leave the Kings 164-9.

Kings had already secured a play-off spot and remain top of the table despite the defeat, while Royals have slim hopes of qualifying if they keep winning and other results go their way.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots also earned a crucial win as they beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by five runs.

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan played a lone hand with 85 from 62 balls in the Patriots' 149-6, recovering from a top-order wobble to 26-3.

The Warriors made hard work of their chase but the game was in the balance with 11 needed from the final over, but seamer Naseem Shah held his nerve to concede just five and they finished 144-8.

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Guyana Amazon Warriors boosted their qualification hopes with a three-wicket win over Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.

Kieron Pollard struck a 17-ball fifty for the Knight Riders, the fastest half-century of this year's tournament, which included five sixes as they posted 167-5.

But he struggled for support elsewhere as West Indies batter Keacy Carty was retired out for 29 from 34 balls and Darren Bravo made 33 from 35.

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali bowled a remarkable spell of 1-11 from four overs, and only Pollard's late onslaught rescued the Knight Riders from 100-4 after 16, with 21 runs pummelled from one Romario Shepherd over.

West Indies duo Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer steered the Warriors to victory in reply, making 53 and 49 respectively after both openers fell cheaply.

The Knight Riders wrestled back some momentum but with 38 needed from 18 balls, Dwaine Pretorius clubbed three sixes in a cameo of 26 from 14 and the Warriors reached their target with a ball to spare.

St Lucia Kings' win over the Knight Riders earlier in the week saw them clinch a play-off spot as they remain top of the table.

Warriors are fourth in the table with the Knight Riders second, while Barbados Royals remain winless at the bottom of the table as Antigua and Barbuda Falcons edged a last-ball thriller.

Royals posted a competitive 187-4 with Brandon King whacking an unbeaten 98 from 65 balls with six fours and seven sixes, but they were left to rue six dropped catches as the Falcons won by four wickets.

Andries Gous starred with 85 off 53 balls, and with 12 needed from the final over, Sherfane Rutherford bowled three wides before the equation become two from the last ball and Falcons' Shamar Springer calmly hit the winning runs.

• CPL table

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West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard crashed 65 off 29 balls to set up a 12-run win for Trinbago Knight Riders over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League.

Pollard came to the crease with Knight Riders 78-3 and shared 90 in 49 balls with Nicholas Pooran (52 off 38) to help his side post 179-6.

He hit two fours and eight sixes and is now just 485 runs behind Chris Gayle for the most runs in T20 cricket.

Gayle, who has retired, leads the way with 14,562, with Pollard second on 14,077. His Knight Riders team-mate Alex Hales is third on 14,031.

For Patriots, Evin Lewis and Andre Fletcher shared 96 for the first wicket but Sunil Narine wrestled some control back for Knight Riders with 0-22 from his four overs.

Nathan Edward removed Lewis and the dangerous Kyle Mayers, in claiming 3-30, as Knight Riders closed out the win.

The win sees Knight Riders go outright top, while Patriots are second-bottom.

• CPL fixtures & table

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England's all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson has entered the auction for the SA20 as he looks to continue his franchise cricket career.

The 43-year-old was picked as a wildcard by Manchester Originals for this year's Hundred but has been unsuccessful in earning contracts in the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash.

The seamer is one of 541 players - 300 South Africans and 241 overseas - on the list for the auction on 9 September.

There are 84 available slots in the six teams, with 25 gaps for overseas players.

Anderson is one of 95 England-qualified players on the list, alongside all-rounder Moeen Ali, batter Jason Roy and seamers Saqib Mahmood and Reece Topley.

As expected there is no Joe Root, who impressed last year, due to a clash with the Ashes against Australia.

There are a host of South Africa internationals too, including T20 captain Aiden Markram and seven others - Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottneil Baartman and Gerald Coetzee - from their T20 World Cup squad in 2024.

Former England captain Jos Buttler, Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan and West Indies' Nicholas Pooran were among the players retained.

The fourth edition of the tournament will take place between 26 December and 26 January. It is an earlier time slot than previous tournaments to avoid a clash with the T20 World Cup in February and March.

• Full SA20 auction list, external

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New Zealand's Tim Seifert hit the joint-fastest century in the Caribbean Premier League as Saint Lucia Kings beat Antigua and Barbuda Falcons by six wickets.

Chasing 205, Seifert crashed an unbeaten 125 off 53 balls to help Kings complete the joint-fifth highest chase in the CPL with 13 balls to spare.

The 30-year-old reached his century off 40 balls, equalling Andre Russell's record for Jamaica Tallawahs against Trinbago Knight Riders in 2018.

He hit 10 fours and nine sixes and his 125 not out is the second-highest individual score in the CPL, behind Brandon King's 132* in 2019.

Earlier, Falcons posted 204-4 after being asked to bat. Shakib Al Hasan top-scored with 61 off 26 balls, while South Africa's Tabraiz Shamsi claimed 3-30.

The win sees Kings join table-toppers Knight Riders on 10 points, while Falcons remain third.

• CPL fixtures & table

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England's T20 World Cup-winning opener Alex Hales crashed 74 to set up Trinbago Knight Riders' six-wicket win over Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.

Hales, 36, smashed three fours and seven sixes off 43 balls to help break the back of a chase of 164.

He shared 116 with Colin Munro (52 off 30) for the first wicket, before the New Zealander became the first of three wickets to fall in the 11th over to Imran Tahir.

Nicholas Pooran and Keacy Carty both fell without scoring but Hales put on 20 with Kieron Pollard to settle any nerves.

Hales was dismissed with 27 required but Pollard (12* off 14) and Andre Russell (27* off 14) got Knight Riders over the line with 16 balls to spare.

Hales has now overtaken Pollard to become the second-highest run-scorer in T20 history. Hales has 14,024 runs, with Pollard 12 runs behind in third.

West Indies great Chris Gayle leads the way with 14,562 so Hales is 538 behind. He has a minimum of four CPL games remaining, but Knight Riders are well positioned to reach the play-offs. He is also set to play in the International League T20 in December.

Earlier, Warriors posted 163-9 after being asked to bat first. Shai Hope top-scored with 39 before he was out hit wicket, while Akeal Hosein was the pick of the bowlers with 3-27.

The win sees Knight Riders consolidate top spot, while Warriors are fourth with two wins in four matches.

• CPL fixtures & table

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