January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Cann: We have to take the bad with the good
James Whittaker caught up with batsman Lionel Cann to get his views on playing away from home, facing public criticism and bringing back team unity.
What were your thoughts on the tour?
For me, personally, it was good to be back in the middle after my surgery and to be back with the boys. It took longer than I expected but my knee is brand new now. I just need to strengthen my core again.
I'd have liked to have got more runs but it was good to be back and to be able to play again. The last game I batted a little longer.
It's no secret that the guys found it tough in South Africa, why do you think the team struggled?
It was not easy out there. The wickets were very bouncy and we batted first most of the time, when there was a lot more moisture about.
Every time we batted first we were behind the eight ball. You saw in the game against Holland the difference when we bowled first. South Africa is a hard place to score runs. Look at what India are doing right now, they are struggling to get more than 150.
How big a factor is it playing away from home on unfamiliar pitches all the time?
The biggest thing I hope for before I retire is that we get to play a one-day-international in our home country.
We've been travelling for two years now playing in all these other countries - we've never had home advantage ourselves.
It can make a big difference, Look at Saleem (Bermuda's South African all-rounder). Saleem's done the best he has ever done for Bermuda and you could say he was playing at home.
We have one-day status until 2009 and I'd like to see local crowds getting to see different teams come from around the world to play here. Being away from home is not easy for the boys. It would be nice to play a few games here.
How do the players respond to the criticism they receive in the press and elsewhere?
We have to get used to it (criticism). This is the next level. Everything we do in life is talked about in the newspapers. If you can't deal with it you might as well not play.
If you get 100 one day they'll talk good about you, if you get zero the next you shouldn't be in the team.
Before we even qualified for the World Cup they said we couldn't do it and then we did it.
Criticism is going to come but everyone has to try and perform to their best.
Do you accept that sometimes the criticism is valid?
You take your criticism - you can't run from it. 90 per cent of criticism has some sort of truth to it. If the shoe fits, you wear it. You know yourself if it is right or not. As a team we have to accept that we need to do the basics right.
What do the guys need to do over the next few months to be better prepared?
The guys understand what they have got to do individually and collectively. They have to work hard and make a commitment to get their bodies in better shape.
Remember, you are talking about cricketers that have been amateurs their whole lives. They have families and they have their lives - they just happen to be great cricketers - at amateur level.
Now they've got the opportunity to play in the World Cup and they're expected to be professionals overnight.A lot of the guys are in their 30s. Their metabolism is set. They're still the best players in Bermuda and they can work as hard as they like, but you can't expect someone to drop 200 pounds overnight.
Do you think improvement is being made by the team?
Two months ago we won the Americas Trophy. We dominated that tournament and we won it. Everybody said we should have won it, but we had never done it before.
Kenya made the semi-finals of the World Cup last time, they've had one-day status for 12 years. You're expecting guys, in six months, to go and beat them,
Kenya are probably the best of the associate countries, but you have to play these countries to know where you are at.
It was an eye opener for us to play them. We have to work hard and follow the right processes and better ourselves.
So you think other players could do better?
Let's be real - we are not going to win the World Cup. The main thing is to be respectable.
You can't say let's pick a whole new team and expect them to do well. We had players from Trinidad here - a club side. Coach gave some players the chance to perform and they didn't perform.
How big a tournament is the World Cricket League for you guys?
That's like Bermuda's World Cup. That's more the level. Our goals were to be the best team in the Americas' initially and then to be the best Associate country by 2009.We'll be up against the other five associate nations so we'll see where we're at. Plus the top two teams go through to the 20/20 World Cup, which is an added incentive.
How is the spirit in the team at the moment?
There's a lot of things gone on over the past few months which have crept into the team. But we have to find the bond we had when we qualified. So many different things have happened since then but I think once the World Cup team gets picked things will get better.
People have been fighting for their positions for the last few months and things happen, but we have to leave what's behind, behind and come together as a unit again.[[In-content Ad]]
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