South African star wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock hit a brilliant 115. It helped Barbados Royals secure a solid 32-run win over Guyana Amazon Warriors at Kensington Oval.
De Kock’s innings set a new record for the highest score by a Royals player in CPL history. However, even after this inning, there is a question mark on the future of Kock in the T20I for South Africa. The win ended the Warriors’ unbeaten streak and pushed the Royals to the top of the CPL 2024 points table.
Before Quinton de Kock, the highest individual score by a Barbados player in the CPL was 110 which was made by Dwayne Smith when the team was known as the Barbados Tridents. Since the team changed its name to Barbados Royals, only Rahkeem Cornwall has scored a century for them. Overall, De Kock’s 115 is now also the sixth-highest score by a batter in CPL history.
Quinton de Kock hasn’t played for South Africa since their loss to India in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. He is not included in the team for the upcoming T20 matches against Afghanistan and Ireland. However, head coach Rob Walter hopes he will return to play for South Africa again.
“I’ve had no conversations with him. It wasn’t the right time after the final to have that conversation,” Walter said. “So let me leave it at saying your guess is as good as mine.”
“Quinny’s an enigma. He hasn’t officially called time. So we have that little glimmer of hope that sits in the background. Quinny has very high standards for himself and has dreamed about a World Cup win for a very long time. Has had a number of knocks along the way, not least this last final, You would have seen that he was very emotional with it. Whether we see him again, time will tell.”
