The National Pairs Championships saw Wymondham’s AJ & Jack Pye come so close to glory as they reached the final before going down by 10-5 to Kent’s Michael Doorey & Danny Hogben. In the group stages both Norfolk entries started well winning their groups. AJ & Jack Pye beat pairs from Dorset and Hertfordshire and drew 7-7 with Hampshire’s highly rated Leah Wood & Ryan Knight to top their group. Halvergate’s David Lamb & Ryan Fox won 11-6 against Suffolk’s Paul Cousins and David Baker and beat Cornwall’s Chris Page & Charlotte Rollings 9-7 and a draw against Herefordshire’s Shirley & Becci Cox saw them top their group. In the first knock-out stage AJ and Jack Pye won 10-6 against an Avon pairing while Fox and Lamb beat Paul Bax and John Pye of Essex 10-2. Lamb & Fox continued their good run beating a Shropshire pair in the last 16 round while the Pyes knocked out one of the top pairings, Mitchell Young and Craig Burgess of Essex, by 9-7. Both Norfolk pairs then came up against each other in the quarter-finals with AJ Pye & Jack Pye defeating David Lamb & Ryan Fox by 10-5. The semi-finals saw the Pyes playing another top pairing in the shape of Devon’s Thomas Perris & James Trott and secured a place in the final with a 7-6 win. The final saw AJ and Jack Pye playing against Kent’s Michael Doorey & Danny Hogben who clinched the title with a 10-5 victory. Never-the-less AJ and Jack did Norfolk proud on the day as did David and Ryan.
National Pairs Champions Michael Doorey & Danny Hogben