James Kettleborough admitted that Staffordshire had failed to find the answers to the questions posed by the wicket as they exited the NCCA Twenty20 Cup.
Staffs were knocked out of the competition at the Super 12s stage at Moddershall & Oulton on Sunday to end their hopes of a third successive appearance at finals day.
On a day where the weather played a pivotal role, all three matches, involving Staffs, Norfolk and Herefordshire were reduced to 10 overs per side.
Staffordshire opened up proceedings, but were restricted to 66-6 from their 10 overs against Norfolk, who went on to win by seven wickets with an over to spare.
Kettleborough’s men then posted 60-9 from their allocation, with their rivals scrambling home off the last ball of the match.
“We weren’t quite good enough with our skills to cope with the challenges put to us on that wicket,” said the Staffordshire captain.
“We didn’t adapt and that cost us because the wicket had its difficulties. Losing the toss in both games and that was crucial. Batting first was never going to be easy.
“In 10-over cricket we want to be really positive, but we felt that playing positive cricket on that wicket was difficult.
“We then lost early wickets and we got caught in a couple of frames of mind. It’s disappointing because we have been good in the short format stuff, but it didn’t work out.”
‘Rivals too good’
Staffordshire had topped their group to secure a home tie in the Super 12s stage.
However, Kettleborough says that being at home never really mattered – and insisted that the performances of the other sides had more to do with the outcome.
“I’ve never really believed in home advantage,” he added. “We proved that last year when we went to Norfolk and won the Super 12s day.
“In fact, with the weather on Sunday, playing first as hosts probably went against us. We’d have got an insight into what the wicket was doing if we had played second and third.
Double defeat sends Staffordshire out of NCCA Twenty 20 Cup
“There certainly wasn’t any complacency and you have to acknowledge that other teams have stepped up.
“The four teams that have reached finals day this summer, there’s only Oxfordshire who made it last year.
“There’s also been two different sides in the 50-over final (Dorset and Shropshire) so that shows how competitive all formats are.
“We’ve done well in the T20 Cup in recent seasons, but you can’t always have success year on year – other counties are allowed to play well and be successful too.”
‘Red-ball duties’
Staffordshire now turn their attention back to Championship matters this weekend with a trip to Copdock to play Suffolk.
Staffs will be looking to back up their opening Division One East win against Lincolnshire when they make the long trip to East Anglia.
And Kettleborough says he’s still keen to take some positives from their disappointing Super 12s day.
‘The celebration was a release of all of my emotions’
“The scores that we put on the board were reflective of the wicket – but another 10 or 15 runs in each game could have led to different outcomes,” explained Kettleborough.
“Scoring at a run-a-ball doesn’t sound tough, but it was on Sunday. We had to fight hard with the ball and it was disappointing not to get over the line, especially against Herefordshire.
“The character we showed was pleasing, though, and we’ve always said if we aren’t going to win, let’s go down fighting.
“We now need to show the same sort of determination in the Championship for the rest of the season.”
Main image: Staffordshire captain James Kettleborough conceded his side failed to fire with the bat in their NCCA Twenty20 Cup Super 12s defeats. Picture: David Peters