. THE latter rounds of Wellington Ex-Services Skittles League’s Harry Dowson pairs competition were held at the Vic with Paul Desborough and Andy Chappell emerging winners of the final - by a 15-pin margin.

First Semi Final: Luke Eggar/Jamie Milton (All Stars) 104 vs Angus Cleland/Alan Sydenham (Shooters) 93. The first semi final saw Jamie Milton, who won this trophy with a different partner the previous year and partner Luke Eggar take on Shooters duo Gus Cleland and Alan Sydenham. The first hand was tied at 14 apiece but in the second hand a 13 spare from Jamie  saw the All Stars pair hit 18 and go 4 pins up.

This lead was reduced to 2 pins in the third hand. The fourth was when Jamie and Luke started to get away from Gus and Alan when they pulled another 4 pins. This was just a prelude to an impressive 25 fifth hand which include a massive 18 flopper from Luke. A final hand 16 left Gus and Alan a mountain to climb as they needed 33 to win. Despite their best efforts and a 13 spare from Alan they could only manage 21 losing the tie by 11 pins. Scores: Luke Eggar 52, Jamie Milton 52; Angus Cleland 44, Alan Sydenham 49.

Second Semi Final: Paul Desborough/Andy Chappell (All Stars) 103 vs Kevin Sedgebeer/Darren Sparks 84. The second semi final saw another All Stars pair of Paul Desborough and Andy Chappell face last season's runners up Kevin Degebeer and Darren Sparks of Reservists. The first hand saw the All Stars go one pin ahead as theY hit 16. They pulled another 3 pins on the second hand and a further pin on the third saw them lead by 5 pins at the halfway stage. The fourth hand saw Paul hit the first spare of the match, a 15. This coupled with Andy's 8 saw them hit 23 pins. The Reservists duo were finding spare strikes hard to come by despite throwing some good balls. Kevin in particular can feel aggrieved with his bad luck. Paul and Andy pulled a further 3 pins in the fifth hand; this with a 16 in their final hand left Darren and  Kevin needing 33 to win, a target they fell short of by 20 pins. Scores: Paul Desborough 57, Andy Chappell 46; Kevin Sedgebeer 40, Darren Sparks 44.

Final: Paul Desborough/Andy Chappell (All Stars) 114 vs Luke Eggar/Jamie Milton (All Stars) 99. The final between teammates was a high scoring affair. Paul and Andy started with a 21 hand which included a 13 spare from Andy. This did not seem to phase Luke and Jamie. They responded with a 22 which included a 14 spare from Luke. The second hand saw Andy hit his second successive spare, this time a 16 to help him and Paul return a 23 hand. The response from Luke and Jamie was a 15. In the third hand good skittling from Paul and Andy saw them hit 17. This enabled them to gain another pin. The fifth hand saw both teams hit 16 apiece to tie. The final hand saw Paul and Andy turn the screw when they hit 21 including a 14 spare from Paul. This left Luke and Jamie needing 33 pins to win; try as they might they ended up with 17 to lose a further 4 pins. Scores: Paul Desborough 54, Andy Chappell 60; Luke Eggar 51, Jamie Milton 48.