SYDNEY - Central Districts coach Dipak Patel has blamed failure to adapt to local conditions as a key reason for his team's below-par performance in the inaugural Champions Cup cricket tournament in Perth.
The Shell Cup winners missed out on a berth in the final when they were comprehensively beaten by
title favourites Western Australia in a day-night match.
The 108-run defeat - when chasing a target of 258 - left Central with a record of one win from their three matches against the one-day champions of Australia, South Africa and India.
Their only victory was over Mumbai, and the two teams they lost to - Western Australia and Kwa-Zulu Natal - made it through to the final.
Patel said one of the most disappointing aspects of the tournament for Central was the inability of the top order to produce big partnerships.
"We knew Western Australia were never going to be easy to beat," he said.
"Our bowling improved, but our batting was certainly very disappointing."
Patel said batting second in a day-night match had tended to be a disadvantage over the past week because the ball moved around more at night.
"It does swing more in the evening and you try to bat first if you can," he said. "But that's a poor excuse.
"The extra bounce in the pitch and the extra movement was probably something we needed to address more."
Central had to win yesterday to have a chance of making the final on countback, and they did well to hold Western Australia to 257 for seven.
Their one-day internationals, skipper Jacob Oram and Glen Sulzberger, were the most economical with the ball.
Oram finished with one for 39 from his 10 overs and Sulzberger took two for 38 from nine.
Central were not sluggish in their run chase, but their effort was undermined by a regular fall of wickets, and their innings folded at 149 in just the 33rd over.
Opener Jamie How top-scored with 39, adding to knocks of 49 and 40 in the other matches.
Patel pointed to 19-year-old How and seamer Brent Hefford as the Central players to impress during the tournament.
- NZPA
