Bermuda skipper Irving Romaine seemed alarmingly unfazed after his team were convincingly beaten by Sri Lanka on their World Cup debut at Queen’s Park Oval yesterday, writes Colin Thompson.

And one has to wonder just what it will take to wipe the ever-present smile off his face.

Instead of lamenting over what could’ve been or pointing fingers, Romaine took yesterday’s humbling defeat all in stride. “This was a great day for Bermuda cricket,” Romaine said. “It was a great experience for all of us. This is the first time we are playing in the World Cup, and really I thought the guys did well.”

Perhaps yesterday’s humid conditions or a concussion sustained during last week’s World Cup warm up match with England got the better of Romaine, as his team looked every part the minnows they have been branded against the former World Cup champions.

But even he admitted early missed chances in the field, including a dropped chance off Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene before he got off the mark, came back to haunt Bermuda in a big way.

“Earlier in the field we missed two important catches, including one off their skipper (Jayawardene) when he was on nought. And he made us pay,” Romaine lamented.

It wasn’t, however, all doom and gloom in the field as Bermuda’s fielders managed to execute a few brilliant catches — albeit during the latter stages of the Sri Lanka innings.

“We worked hard in the field and the guys took some really good catches and you must give them credit,” Romaine said.

“And I think the total could’ve been a lot higher. But unfortunately those two catches that went down cost us another 60 to 70 runs.”

As for his team’s dismal batting performance, Romaine laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of Sri Lankan seamer Lasith Malinga who tormented the Bermuda batsmen on a pitch that offered bounce throughout.

“Facing Malinga (seamer Lasith Malinga) was a whole different experience. Our game plan today was to see Malinga off. But unfortunately it didn’t work,” the skipper said.

Bermuda were at one stage in all sorts of trouble tottering at 29 for six after 12 overs, and seemingly destined to topple Canada’s dubious record for the lowest total (36) in a World Cup match.

“I think once we passed 36 runs there were smiles on everybody’s face. But I still think we did alright. The guys are enjoying the experience and having the fans here with us is simply amazing,” a relieved Romaine said.

In what has now become custom, Bermuda’s top order again failed to trouble the scorers, among them Romaine himself who was trapped leg before without scoring by a fired-up Malinga steaming in from the media centre end of the famous ground.

“Seeing off the new ball is always going to be a challenge for us at this level,” the skipper said. “So I wouldn’t really say our batsmen misfired today.”

As for team morale, Romaine insisted: “The mood in the camp is okay.” And this just might have been consolation for coach Gus Logie who must quickly pick up his team and prepare them for next Monday’s Group B clash with Rahul Dravid’s India at the same ground.

“This is a new experience for us,” Romaine added. “But that’s cricket and we do intend to take each match as it comes.”

Romaine rues the dropped catches