We played bad cricket: Brian Lara

St.George's, (Grenada) Apr 11: A tearful West Indies skipper Brian Lara blamed ''Host Nation phobia'' and ''bad cricket'' for not making it to the semi-finals of the ongoing Cricket World Cup.

''We played bad cricket and we did not deserve to be in the semi-finals,'' Brian Lara said after his side lost to South Africa and was virtually eliminated from the World Cup.

''It was a bad show. We suffered from host Nation Phobia and we could not handle that pressure,'' Lara told media persons here.

''It is all over for us,'' he said when reminded by a journalist that his side had two matches to play and whether he still fancies any chances. ''No, there are no chances, it is over, other teams have better run rates apart from points,'' he said bluntly.

''Yes we have two more matches and we will take them seriously.

We will play for pride,'' he said and added ''There is still lot of cricket left in the team.'' Lara was gracious enough to lavish praise on South Africa and said, ''They played very well. You have to give it to them. They showed class and character and proved why they are one of the top ranked team in the world.'' Asked why he opted to field after winning the toss, the dejected skipper said, ''There was moisture in the wicket in the morning and we were hopeful of getting early wickets but that did not happen and the rest you know.'' ''It was a crucial game for both the teams and they emerged deserving winner,'' the skipper said and added ''we knew we had to win today, but things didn't work out. All credit to South Africa.

They came back from a defeat against Bangladesh and played really well.

Chasing 356 was always going to be tough.''

Lara, however defended his boys. ''I can't fault the guys. They tried their best but we didn't come up with trumps. The guys are really down in the dressing room, it's a really quiet place. There are a lot of sad faces but we have to pick ourselves up and show that we can host a good World Cup. ''We're all disappointed and are very sorry for the way we have performed. It's a huge shock for the fans and supporters,'' he said.

''I can tell them (supporters) we are sorry. We let you down, We destroyed your dreams and we are sorry for that,'' Lara said.

Asked why West Indies failed here while the same team performed well in Champions Trophy and in a tournament in Malaysia, Lara replied ''World Cup is different, it is a huge stage, the pressure is different because so much is at stake, which is not the case with other tournaments.'' He dismissed a query that players were more interested in money than performing.''It is all wrong. Such reports effect the players.

What was happening between the players and West Indies board had nothing to do with on the field performance. Which player worth his salt will not like to perform well in the World Cup,'' he hit back.

West Indies will now play against Bangladesh and England in Barbados on April 19 and 21 respectively.

UNI