The finalists in the 2020 Major Pairs Championship have been decided with the match to be a replay of the 2019 final! Noel Downie and John Monks will try to stop Peter Davies and Joel Hilliard from winning consecutive Championships when they play on Saturday. The teams won their way into the final in contrasting semi-finals. Downie and Monks had a very tight battle against Peter Macdonald and Ray Downey while Davies and Hilliard had a big win in their clash with Alan McLeod and Col Fletcher.
Macdonald and Downey held the advantage for a large portion of their match with Downie and Monks. In a tight tussle the scores remained close until Macdonald and Downey grabbed the biggest lead of the day. On the back of fantastic lead bowls from Macdonald, they moved to a 17 – 9 lead after 13 ends. The next end proved crucial. Downie and Monks were able to pick up 5 shots. Not only did they close the margin but they had a big boost in their confidence. Downie, in particular, really hit his straps. He controlled the next few ends with his very skilful draw bowling. They hit the lead for the first time in the game on the 17th end. They went on to win a very good game 22 – 20.
Davies and Hilliard were locked in a close tussle with McLeod and Fletcher until they picked up the maximum 8 shots on the 7th end. The score blew out to a 17 – 6 margin. They then consolidated their lead before they picked up another 8 shots on the 13 end to move to a 32 – 10 lead. To their credit, McLeod and Fletcher did not give in and where able to win 4 of the next 6 ends. However, the margin was just too big. The two big scores ended being the difference between the teams. Davies and McLeod moved into the final with a 36 – 17 victory.
John Monks and Noel Downie move into Major Pairs Final
