CPL 2025: St Lucia, no Delilah for Sampson’s strengths as GAW books playoff spot

Dwaine Pretorius once again joined the elite, smashing a six off the final ball to seal victory for the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) on Saturday afternoon.
But the ever-dangerous Pretorius wasn’t the only standout, as Quentin Sampson burst onto the world stage, showing the kind of strength his name would evoke from biblical tales.
Sampson’s fearless innings not only propelled the Amazon Warriors into the playoffs but also put the spotlight on one of Guyana’s rising T20 stars at the National Stadium in Providence.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat under the blazing Guyanese sun, the Kings got off to a steady start, racking up 9 runs in the opening over.

Gudakesh Motie’s early introduction in the second over proved a stroke of genius, as Tim Seifert miscued his third delivery and skied it straight to Hassan Khan at cover.
The celebrations were short-lived, however, as belated birthday boy Ackeem Auguste marked the occasion with a thunderous six off his very first ball.
Three overs later, Pretorius sent Johnson Charles back to the pavilion for 16 off as many balls.
The hosts’ troubles deepened as the Kings not only accelerated but also forged an almost unbreakable third-wicket partnership.
Experienced campaigner Roston Chase and rising star Auguste tore through the Warriors’ bowling, compiling a 90-run partnership with 6 fours and 4 sixes, leaving the Providence crowd stunned into silence.
Motie created the first opportunity to break the partnership in the tenth over, delivering a length ball wide outside off, but Shimron Hetmyer’s diving attempt at long-on couldn’t hold on.
It was eventually Captain Imran Tahir who broke through, claiming Auguste’s wicket three overs after the earlier missed chance.
Just two balls after reaching his second half-century of the season – coincidentally also against the Warriors – Auguste went for the big shot and was caught at deep midwicket for 50 off 30.
Captain Tahir celebrated the crucial wicket with his signature “Suiii”, but Chase kept the momentum alive, smashing two fours and a six off the next over from Hassan Khan.

Tim David’s time at the crease was brief, but Chase held firm, making the missed chance to dismiss him even more costly for the Warriors.
A collective groan echoed through the Providence stands as Hetmyer once again failed to hold on to Motie’s delivery, letting Chase survive on 74.
Instead, the Barbadian national racked up an unbeaten 90 off 55 balls, featuring 6 fours and 5 towering sixes.
The CPL’s defending champions posted 185-4 in their 20 overs.
Delano Potgieter, unbeaten on 14 off 10, struggled to find the boundary off Romario Shepherd in the final over, denying Chase what might have been a well-deserved century.
The CPL defending champions finished their 20 overs at 185-4. Motie was the most economical for the Warriors with 1-24 from 4 overs, while Tahir took 1-37 and Pretorius claimed 2-36 from the same quota.
Quentin Sampson’s long-awaited promotion up the order was met with loud cheers from hundreds of Amazon Warriors fans as the team came out to bat.
The excitement was well justified, as Sampson single-handedly steadied the Warriors’ shaky start and put on a spectacular display at the top of the order.
Opening alongside Ben McDermott, Sampson had to watch his partner depart in the fifth over, caught for 16 by Aaron Jones on the edge of the circle.
From that moment, it was all Sampson, as the Essequibo native blasted 7 fours and 5 sixes, sending the “Warrior Nation” into a frenzy.
Sampson’s 76 off 39 finally came to an end when he skied one straight to Tim David at long-on.

Hetmyer did nothing to calm the growing tension in the stands, falling for a first-ball duck – his second consecutive – handing Chase back-to-back wickets.
Shamarh Brooks, Khan, and Shepherd all spent only brief periods at the crease, leaving the Amazon Warriors reeling at 133-6 by the fifteenth over.
By the 18th over, all hope seemed lost when Shai Hope, the last recognized batsman, was sent back for 44 off 34 balls.
Coming in at number 8 for the first time for the Warriors, Moeen Ali joined Pretorius to keep the fight alive.
Exactly a year ago against the Antigua Barbuda Falcons, Pretorius faced a similar test, needing a boundary off the very last ball of the innings.
Needing 12 from the final over, the stage was set for a roller-coaster six balls from St Lucian captain David Wiese. A no-ball, a run-out, and wides mixed things up, leaving just four runs required off the last delivery.
Pretorius held his nerve, smashing Wiese over long-on for a match-winning six.
With that big hit, the Amazon Warriors secured their place in the Republic Bank CPL playoffs. The local side now has a chance to climb into the top two spots tonight when they face the Barbados Royals at 19:00h.