Tapeball: Watkins (99), Barnwell (88) blast Tarmac Titans to victory over Pandemic

Marcus Watkins and Christopher Barnwell produced swashbuckling knocks to spearhead Tarmac Titans to a resounding 67-run victory over Pandemic in a 20-over Tapeball contest at Durban Park on Sunday.

Watkins smacked a belligerent 99, falling agonisingly short of a deserved hundred, while Barnwell, a day after a brutal 155* in the Demerara Cricket Board’s Inter-Association T20 final against West Demerara Jaguars, blazed to 88 (4x4s; 10x6s) from 33 balls.

Tarmac posted a commanding 362-5 and restricted Pandemic to 295-8.

Earlier, Earl ‘Mr. Tapeball’ Gilkes went early for 18, which paved the way for the Barnwell and Watkins show, entertaining all in attendance with massive sixes.

Watkins fell in the 20^th over after facing 40 balls and hitting four fours and 11 sixes.

Adding the icing to the solid performance for Tarmac was Kelvin Bovell, with 42 from 15 balls, and Jayadev Mana with 38 from nine balls.

In response, Pandemic made an excellent start with 102 runs in just five overs before facing resistance from Barnwell and Mana who chipped away.

Mana took three wickets, while Barnwell and Watkins bagged two each. Carl Padmore struck 71 from 32 balls and Raphael Frank 67 off 21 balls.

Captain Stayon Forde brought a late surge with 49 from 28 balls, but the target was beyond reach.

The victory gave Tarmac an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, which will conclude in the coming weeks.