SUE COOKE and Alex Jacobs have finished as runners-up in the 2017 ladies national pairs championship, writes DAVE EATON.

The Box duo representing Wiltshire were beaten 24-8 in the ladies pairs final at the Bowls England National Championships on Saturday afternoon by Sue Alexander and her daughter England international Ellen Falkner from the Littleport Club (Cambs).

Cooke and Jacobs won the first end of the final but dropped a two on the second and trailed the Cambridgeshire pair, the 2008 and 2012 pairs champions, from then onwards.

They were 5-3 down at five ends and 13-4 at halfway (11 ends). They were now trying to play catch-up but were 15-7 down at 15 ends and 19-8 adrift after 18 ends, however, they conceded the game 24-8 on the next after dropping a count of five.

Earlier in the day Cooke and Jacobs had qualified for the pairs final after recording a 20-15 victory in the semi-finals over Wigton, Cumbria pairing of Penny Peile and Carol Baxter.

They had earlier beaten Sandra Maguire and Angela Porter (Forest Oaks, Nottingham) 31-18 and 2014 pairs champions Lynda Smith and Tracey Powell (Ledbury, Herefordshire) on day one (Thursday).

Then on Friday morning the Box duo accounted for Hertford’s Jenny Parsley and Daphne Pratt 24-20 and later in the day won their quarter-final convincingly 22-9 against Helen Broughton and Joanne Shelton (Stute, Ilkeston, Derbys) to boob a place in the last four and semi-finals.

Cooke and Jacobs loss means Wiltshire failed to complete a hat-trick of wins at the 2017 national championships following on from the Royal Wootton Bassett men’s success in the national senior (O55) fours championship and the Purton ladies in the triples earlier this week.

Meanwhile the Box duo also missed out on a rare outdoor and indoor double as they won the indoor pairs national title in 2010.