Malta duo oust hosts Australia to reach Commonwealth semis

Brendan Aquilina and Shaun Parnis produced a major upset in the lawn bowls pairs competition when they came from behind to knock out hosts Australia 15-13 and progress to the semi-finals and remain in contention for a medal in Gold Coast.

It was an impressive performance from the Maltese duo who were rated as underdogs against Brett Wilkie and Aaron Wilson especially after having already suffered a comprehensive 22-11 defeat to the Australians in the group stages.

It had looked as though the Maltese were set for a difficult night when trailing 6-1 after four ends.

But the Maltese kept their composure and slowly they managed to claw themselves back into the match and open a commanding 14-9 lead after 14 ends.

The Australians tried to fight back but the Maltese did well to preserve the advantage and seal a memorable 15-13 victory.

This morning, Parnis and Aquilina will face Scotland who had the better of Malaysia 16-11 in another quarter-final.

The winner of the match will progress to the gold medal final and the losing pair move to a play-off for the bronze medal.