SAT20 side Paarl Royals released a statement on their website on Tuesday confirming a report that West Indies left-arm spinner Fabian Allen was a victim of a robbery in Johannesburg during the ongoing tournament.

In what Paarl Royals described as an "isolated incident," Allen was robbed of his personal belongings, including a luxury wrist watch, while he was returning to the team hotel with a few other Royals players on January 25, a day after they played the Joburg Super Kings.

However, it could not be confirmed if Allen or Royals reported the issue to the police.

The Royals statement did not go into detail, but said Allen was "safe," and was preparing for the Eliminator against Super Kings on Wednesday in Cape Town.

"The franchise works closely with the league to ensure the safety and well-being of its players and staff, while also allowing them to have free personal time as well," the statement said.

"Following the incident, the player was provided with the necessary support by the franchise and the league, and [he] was keen to continue his participation at the SA20, and has since been available for selection (twice also featuring in the playing XI for the Royals)."

Royals ended third after the round-robin stage of the SA20 this season, with Allen having played eight out of their ten games.

However, he bowled only in four innings, having taken two wickets at 35.50 across the eight overs he has delivered. Allen wasn't selected to play in Royals' final two matches before the playoffs.

 

A solid all-round performance from Andile Phehlukwayo propelled the Paarl Royals to a comfortable 27-run win over the Pretoria Capitals in Betway SA T20 action at Boland Park in Paarl on Friday.

The Royals, after being put in to bat by the Capitals, made 160-7 from their 20 overs thanks to 41 from Captain David Miller and 28 each from Phehlukwayo and Mitchell Van Buuren.

West Indian all-rounder Fabian Allen could only manage five against 2-29 off four overs from Daryn Dupavillon and 2-35 from four overs for Corbin Bosch.

The Capitals were then restricted to 133-7 from their 20 overs.

Phil Salt, who tormented the West Indies during their five-match T20I series with England in December, top-scored with 39 while Rilee Rossouw had 29 and Captain James Neesham 21.

Phehlukwayo picked up 2-29 from his four overs while West Indian Obed McCoy ended his four overs with 1-26.

Heinrich Klaasen was at his belligerent best to help Durban’s Super Giants secure an 11-run win over Kieron Pollard’s MI Cape Town via the DLS method in the Betway SA T20 at Kinsmead in Durban on Thursday.

MI Cape Town first posted a formidable 207-5 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Super Giants.

Opener Ryan Rickleton hit six fours and six sixes on his way to an excellent top score of 87 from 51 balls while Pollard, who replaced the injured Rashid Khan ad Captain for the tournament, hit a brutal 31 from 14 balls including four fours and a six in the latter part of the innings.

Guyanese all-rounder Keemo Paul took 2-31 from his four overs for the Super Giants.

The chase got off to a less than impressive start as Durban lost Quinton De Kock (5) and Wiaan Milder (5) within the first three overs with 12 runs on the board.

A 40-run third wicket partnership between opener Matthew Breetzke and Paul steadied proceedings a bit before Paul fell off the bowling of English speedster Ollie Stone for 15.

His wicket brought Klaasen to the crease and he put the team on his back with a magnificent 35-ball 85 including four fours and eight massive sixes.

Breetzke ended up making 39 off 24 balls.

The wickets of those two along with Nicholas Pooran for just 11 meant that the Super Giants were 177-6 off 16.3 overs when the rains came and ended play for the day.

Thankfully for the Super Giants, the Duckworth Lewis Stern par score was 166 at the time.

South African ace Kagiso Rabada took 2-23 from three overs for MI Cape Town.

 

West Indies T20 sensation, Nicholas Pooran, was unveiled as the Durban's Super Giants wildcard pick ahead of the SA20 auction that took place in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

This will be Pooran's first time playing the tournament and he will represent the same owners he plays for in the Indian Premier League.

The 27-year old delivered a recent reminder of his capabilities with a 51-ball hundred at the Caribbean Premier League where his team, Trinbago Knight Riders, was part of the final.

He was the highest scorer in the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament in the USA earlier this year, a performance that helped the team he was captaining, MI New York, win the title.

In all, Pooran has 5861 T20 runs at a strike rate of 144 across a career that spans 292 matches and 10 years.

Fellow West Indians Kieron Pollard and Romario Shepherd were also snapped up at the auction. Pollard will play the first three matches for MI Cape Town as cover for Rashid Khan while Shepherd, who was instrumental in helping the Guyana Amazon Warriors claim their maiden CPL title, will suit up for the Joburg Super Kings.

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