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Guyana Amazon Warriors thrashed Barbados Royals by 64 runs to secure a top-two spot in the Caribbean Premier League and two chances to reach the final.

The Warriors were the final team to secure a play-off spot but the comprehensive win lifts them above Trinbago Knight Riders to seal second spot, behind Saint Lucia Kings.

Knight Riders won six of their opening seven matches but lost their final three and will now have to win three straight games to win the tournament.

After being asked to bat first, Warriors posted 189-6 with Quentin Sampson making 50 off 36 balls at the top of the order, before Shimron Hetmyer finished the innings off with 68 off 39.

The Royals, who finish bottom with two wins in 10 games, slipped to 28-3 in reply.

Sherfane Rutherford and Shaqkere Parris put on 55 for the fourth wicket, but the Royals then lost four wickets for five runs in a 12-ball spell to fall to 88-7.

Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie then wrapped up the tail to claim career-best T20 figures of 5-21.

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CPL play-off schedule 2025

All games start at 01:00 BST

Wednesday, 17 September: Eliminator - Antigua and Barbuda Falcons v Trinbago Knight Riders

Thursday, 18 September: Qualifier 1 - Guyana Amazon Warriors v Saint Lucia Kings

Saturday, 20 September: Qualifier 2 - Winner of Eliminator v Loser of Qualifier 1

Monday, 22 September: Final - winner of Qualifier 1 v winner of Qualifier 2

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Guyana Amazon Warriors beat Saint Lucia Kings with a final-ball six to secure their place in the Caribbean Premier League play-offs.

The two-wicket win moves the Warriors above St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, who are now eliminated.

The narrow margin of defeat confirmed the Kings will finish in the top two - and have two chances to reach the final. Warriors face Barbados Royals in the final group game on Monday (00:00 BST) and a win could see them finish in the top two on net run-rate.

The Warriors needed four to win from the last ball to complete their chase of 186 and South Africa's Dwaine Pretorius hit David Wiese over long-on for six.

It is the second time in two seasons that Pretorius has hit a final-ball six to seal a win for the Warriors.

They needed 12 from the final over and former England all-rounder Moeen Ali was dropped off a no-ball from the second ball, before being run out from the third.

They were in control of the chase at 103-1 after 11 overs but Quentin Sampson fell for 76 off 39 balls and sparked a collapse of five wickets for 30 runs.

Shai Hope (44 off 34) shared 28 with Moeen, who then put on 18 with Pretorius.

Earlier, the Kings posted 185-4 after opting to bat first. They were 27-2 but Ackeem Auguste made 50 off 30 balls in a stand of 90 with Roston Chase, who finished 90 not out off 55 balls.

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Trinbago Knight Riders suffered their third straight defeat and failed to secure a top-two finish in the Caribbean Premier League with a seven-wicket loss against Barbados Royals.

Knight Riders won six of their opening seven games to secure a play-off spot, but three successive defeats means they are yet to secure a top-two spot and two chances to reach the final on 22 September.

They currently sit second but could be overtaken on net run-rate if Guyana Amazon Warriors win their final two matches. There is also a scenario where Warriors could displace Saint Lucia Kings from the top two with a heavy win in their match from 16:00 BST on Saturday and secure Knight Riders' place.

After being asked to bat, Knight Riders recovered from 41-4 at the start of the eighth over to post 166-8 in Bridgetown.

Captain Nicholas Pooran made 45 off 44 balls, while Kieron Pollard added 36 off 25 balls. Pollard is now 381 runs behind Chris Gayle for the most in T20 history.

Kings, who were already eliminated after one win in eight games, got off to a good start in reply with Quinton de Kock (55 off 35) and Kadeem Alleyne (36 off 27) sharing 87 for the first wicket.

Both fell, alongside Rassie van der Dussen, to leave Kings 116-3 but Sherfane Rutherford (32* off 26) and Rovman Powell (27* off 11) got them across the line with six balls to spare.

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Jason Holder scored 53 not out and defended 13 from the final over as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots edged to a one-run win over Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League.

After a top-order wobble to 62-4, captain Holder anchored the Patriots' innings with a 30-ball knock, which included five sixes, as he added 74 for the sixth wicket with Navin Bidaisee, who made 30.

The partnership helped them post 150-7 and was followed by a fine all-round bowling effort with Bidaisee also claiming 2-24.

South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen finished unbeaten on 37 but the Royals were frustrated by batters making starts but failing to accelerate, with Quinton de Kock, Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford all passing 20.

Holder then closed out the win with the wicket of Chris Green in the 18th over and Daniel Sams in the last, finishing with figures of 2-32 as the Royals finished 149-7.

The result sees the Royals eliminated with just one win from their eight games while the Patriots are still in contention for a play-off spot. However, they will be knocked out if Guyana Amazon Warriors win one of their last two matches.

St Lucia Kings, Trinbago Knight Riders and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons are already through.

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Jayden Seales took 4-15 as Antigua and Barbuda Falcons secured their place in the Caribbean Premier League play-offs with a six-wicket win over Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The West Indies fast bowler did the damage early with three wickets in the powerplay, removing former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, Australian Ben McDermott and international team-mate Shimron Hetmyer.

Wickets continued to fall throughout the innings, with Pakistan leg-spinner Usama Mir taking 3-17, before Seales returned to bowl Quentin Sampson as Guyana were skittled for 99 in 18.2 overs.

Despite such a modest target, the chase was not straightforward for the Falcons as they slipped to 65-6 in the 14th over with two wickets apiece for spinners Moeen and Imran Tahir.

However, opener Amir Jangoo batted through the innings for an unbeaten 51 from 57 balls and, with the help of all-rounder Fabian Allen, got the Falcons over the line with five balls to spare.

Third-place Falcons join St Lucia Kings and Trinbago Knight Riders in sealing a knockout place and Amazon Warriors can take the last spot with victory over the Kings on Saturday.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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