Sports Minister Randy Horton, a former top cricketer and Cup Match skipper, has dismissed claims that Bermuda would have performed better at the current World Cup had they been able to play warm-up games on home turf in front of a home crowd.

Bermuda were unable to host any of the warm-up matches prior to the tournament and have been forced to play all of their One-Day Internationals over the past two years in other countries after the National Sports Centre pitch was deemed unfit for first-class games by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Team skipper Irving Romaine mentioned in a media conference last week that the lack of a home facility had hampered preparation, and other players have frequently complained about having to play all of their ODIs overseas. But Horton, who watched his side suffer heavy defeats against both Sri Lanka and India during the past week, said he couldn’t accept that as an excuse.

“Maybe something should have been done quicker, but that’s no excuse for the way we’re playing cricket. You know they can’t use that as an excuse for having not performed,” said Horton. “I would certainly say I would like for that (an ICC-approved pitch) to be there. There’s a lot of things we’d like to see in place but I’m sorry I can’t accept that as an excuse.

“I’ve played myself in good conditions and bad conditions and I think they are right to say they would like to see a better facility, but that just isn’t a valid excuse.

“I think they have been outplayed. In the first match they were outplayed by a team which was much better. No matter how much practice they have, if they don’t practice against somebody bowling at 90 mph and they’re only used to playing against 70-mph bowlers, then that 15 and 20 mph is going to make a big difference, I don’t care what you do.

“I would like for us to find the opportunity for our players to play more often against players at the level we’re meeting right now. And getting the pitch in the right shape would certainly help that.

“I certainly want to be able to see them play home matches and I’m working to see that we have the pitch at the National Stadium brought to a state where we are able to play matches.

“Right now we can place glue on the wicket and it would be acceptable, but we want a long-term solution and that means getting the appropriate turf.” Horton, however, agreed that the burden of expectation on Bermuda’s players here in Trinidad had probably been too great.

“I think the players have done well, they’ve given us their best. I think they’ve performed to the best of their ability. But I think the mental approach could be improved.

“I don’t care what anybody says, when you put a team like Bermuda against a team from Sri Lanka, there’s going to be some shockwaves, it’s natural. It doesn’t matter whether they’re coming from Bermuda or any other country, if they haven’t had the experience of playing against teams of that ability they’re going to suffer.” He said it was more realistic to look ahead to the next World Cup in 2011 by which time Bermuda’s current crop of youngsters would be far more experienced. And he hoped by then it would be Bermuda pulling off the World Cup upsets in much the same way as Ireland and Bangladesh have done during the current competition.

“Certainly that would be my goal,” added the Minister, who before entering politics was regarded as one of the Island’s leading all-round sportsmen, having starred as a soccer player for the New York Cosmos.

“There’s no point in being involved in the programme if that’s not what you want to see down the road. I would certainly like to see something like that happen. I think we’ve got young players coming along who I think, if nurtured in the right way and given the right opportunity, will be able to produce and perform well against these teams.”

But Horton was loathe to compare the current national team with those whom he played alongside in the ‘70s and ‘80s. “It’s always difficult to make a comparison,” he added. “Those players didn’t play World Cup cricket but they did play against very good teams and performed well against them.

“Certainly when you go back to the ‘79 team that came third in the ICC Championship, that was an outstanding team. They came third behind Sri Lanka who went on to become world champions.

“So if there had been four teams allowed to go through to the World Cup then, who knows what we would have been able to achieve. But that didn’t happen, so we have to deal with what is.”

Horton said if he had any advice for the current players it would be “to look inside themselves and be happy”.

“I think players have to be happy with the commitment they make towards improving themselves. A coach shouldn’t have to tell you to train . . . that’s something you have to develop yourself.

“When I played cricket I didn’t need anybody to ask me to train, I was getting paid to play football, a coach didn’t have to ask me to train. If I fell short in some area I trained myself.

“When you get to this level that’s the kind of sacrifice you have to make. It has to go beyond the normal training sessions with the coach.

“It gets down to how you manage your time, how you eat, it gets down to the way you handle your sleep. All these things play a major role in helping players to stay at their peak.

“Today there’s more opportunities for athletes, today they have a psychologist, a physiotherapist with the team all the time, they have all these specialists working with them because there’s a much greater emphasis on the science of developing high potential.

“I played football at the highest level, I played cricket, I had the opportunity to have trials at Worcestershire, I think I probably could have played in England had I chosen not to come back to Bermuda.

“When I see players going on the field now I get a chill, watching these players stepping out on the field at this level is exciting for me because there’s nothing more a player can ask for than being able to go on the world stage.”