T&T opener Adrian Barath says that the two-day loss to Barbados might have affected the confidence of the team going into the Super50 clash which they lost against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) on Thursday at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
T&T was knocked out the tournament after reaching the semis unbeaten with six wins. "After the loss against Barbados when the public got behind us it was very difficult for us. The criticisms were stinging and it definitely affected the players.
"The confidence was low going into the CCC game and I think that difficult period must have dragged over to the Super50. People would not look and see that we won six straight games in this tournament, all they would look at is the fact that we have lost the semis and the fact that we won six games straight would be swept under the carpet. I think that it is unfortunate but as a team we know that we had to win all eight games to lift the trophy and we did not."
Looking at the T&T batting, Barath said it was a case of no one getting a start. "When you look back at the game you would realise that no one got a start, and this was critical. I thought the target was quite manageable but we needed a good start. The opening bowlers bowled a good line and did not give us anything to dispatch and this put pressure on us."
Barath said credit should be given to the CCC. "They played good cricket and deserved to win. Anthony Alleyne played a very good hand in getting 99. He basically batted out the innings and this gave them a good score. Had he not done that, we might have been chasing around 150 and that would have put their bowlers under pressure."
Looking ahead, Barath said club cricket was looking good at this moment. "I am looking forward to going back and play for Queen's Park. We think we can still win the championship once we win three out of the four remaining games and we are going for that. The mere fact that I would be involved in cricket will be great for me, so I just continue to focus on my game."