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The young crop of Barbados players exposed to Busta Cup cricket this season may be overawed by the occasion.

The frank assessment has come from team coach Hendy Springer following Barbados' second successive defeat this season at Sabina Park here Sunday.

In losing to Jamaica by an innings and 39 runs inside three days, Barbados were outplayed in every facet of the game and it was evident that a few of the new players appeared to be out of their league.

Following the heavy pounding they returned to serious business immediately by going back to Sabina Park yesterday morning for a practice session.

It boils down to the fact some of the guys are not familiar (with first-class cricket) and for some, this level is a bit higher than they actually expected. They are suffering from the actual occasion, Springer said.

As coach, he said it would be no cakewalk in trying to turn things around.

It takes a lot of work on my behalf to get these guys into doing the basic things well, he said.

It will be a lot of work for me. I am not a shirker, but these guys need to know that they have a responsibility also to adhere to some of the things that I and some of the senior players, along with the manager, have been trying to tell them.

At this point, I don't think we are getting through to them as quickly as we would like, nor have they been retaining as well as we would have liked.

There have been instances when batsmen have been guilty of rash strokes, bowlers have failed to maintain a consistent line and length and fielders have been making elementary mistakes.

Following Sunday's defeat, Barbados returned to Sabina yesterday morning for a practice session, hoping to iron out some faults ahead of their fourth round match against Trinidad and Tobago starting Friday at Queen's Park Oval.

While the early results were unsatisfactory, Calvin Hope, a member of the Barbados selection panel who watched the match at Sabina, said there was no reason to be despondent.

When you get beaten you are disappointed, but I don't think it is anything to feel that badly about, he said.

We have managed to put some very useful talent out there, some guys who have ability. It's a different game for some of these younger players. The senior players have not been doing as well as they could do and it just has not gelled as yet.

This season, the selection panel opted to discard four seasoned players in order to expose younger players. It is reflected in the fact that eight of the 13 who came to Jamaica are under the age of 21.

Hope described it as a development year and maintained that results would not be necessarily achieved overnight.

We have a young team but I think the future holds hope for Barbados cricket, he said.

We have to stick to what our long-range vision is and I think we can go from strength to strength. There just needs to be a little bit more planning, a little bit more concentration, a little more cohesion on the field and sticking to your plan.

© The Barbados Nation