With a little more luck Bermuda could have come away as outright winners of the Americas Cup cricket tournament in Argentina last week, according to top local umpire Lester Harnett who also made the trip south.

Although Bermuda were skittled out for a paltry 59 in their opening match against the Caymans, Harnett said he genuinely felt that the team performed well, despite finishing with a losing 1-4 record.

"The Bermudian team did quite well. Although there is always some room for development, the fact remains that they did well under the conditions, they stuck together and they battled the situation reasonably well," said Harnett.

"I really do believe that apart from some very minor obstacles they could have come out winners,'' added the umpire who along with Steven Douglas represented Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association at the tournament.

Harnett, who is also president of the BCUA, said he realised the great difficulty that coach Mark Harper and the selectors had in attempting to assemble a squad with key players pulling out at the 11th hour.

But he said the players that did travel weren't discouraged after their poor performance in the opening match and continued to battle through the remaining games.

"Positive support from the Bermuda community (before leaving) could have been the ingredient that the boys needed for the challenges they were to come up against in Argentina,"' said Harnett.

"I was really was excited about seeing the youngsters in the team rise to the challenge. They not only learned from playing but I could see how just by participating helped open their eyes. They asked questions, they interacted with the locals and seemed anxious to learn more about the country, it was just great."

Harnett felt that the weather conditions were disappointing and at times had a negative effect. But he said the host Argentinians went "beyond their duty" to accommodate everybody and make all as comfortable as possible at a time when they themselves were suffering numerous social and political problems.

He also pointed out how well the tournament was run by the host country and officials of the American Region, giving credit to Argentinian groundsmen who did a "superb job" in making the grounds and facilities suitable after the torrential rain.

"We had no qualms over anything during the tournament and make no mistake about it, the Americas Region tournament is going to be a huge plus for Bermuda cricket at large," said Harnett.

"They ran a first class tournament and it would be unreasonable for Bermuda not to remain a solid partner and continue to participate in years to come. We definitely need to stay there, we need to look at the infrastructure of our cricket and to help build it this way because it is always going to be about development."

On the field of play, Harnett felt that he and Douglas both did well. And he said they were both honoured to have been invited.

"Fortunately we didn't experience anything that we couldn't handle. We are accustomed to all sort of situations on the field of play and I firmly believe that, like the players, we did Bermuda proud," he said.

"It was a big plus for Bermuda to have two umpires go and now I think we need to capitalise on these sort of invitations. The BCUA are looking forward to building on this. I can see us going forward and I can see fellow umpires similarly benefit and new people being encouraged to join our ranks."