Cricket legend Brian Lara has expressed dismay over Bermuda’s showing at this year’s Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division Three tournament held locally.

Bermuda placed fourth among the six participating countries to retain their Division Three status by the skin of their teeth. But as tournament hosts and a country with previous World Cup experience, former West Indies skipper Lara, a regular visitor to Bermuda, said he had higher expectations for Arnold Manders’ team.

“I expected a little bit more from Bermuda,” the Trinidadian told The Royal Gazette. “In a tournament such as that, playing at home you would want Bermuda to be at the forefront.

“Kudos must go out to Nepal who won the tournament. It’s nice to see the Italians and the other countries that are now coming into the game playing the game and enjoying it. But I expected more from Bermuda.”

Lara was among those who expressed optimism over the future of local cricket after Bermuda qualified for the 2007 ICC World Cup.

But since then the Island’s cricket standards have steadily declined.

Critics argue that one of the Island’s biggest stumbling blocks is a lack of mental toughness. Lara views that toughness a “big asset” in any sport.

“If you get to a certain level of this game there’s not much you can change or not much anybody can change in your game,” he said.

“But if you’re very strong mentally or teach yourself to get strong mentally I think it’s a very big asset.

“I like dealing with the mental side of the game, getting into the psyche and minds of the players and let them understand how important that part of the game is.”

As far as West Indies cricket is concerned, Lara is encouraged by the progress being made by the team he previously led.

“I think we have a good team, especially in the shorter version of the game,” he said.

“It’s still left to be seen how the attrition level and mental level is going to take them through the longer version of the game.

“We definitely need the guys to understand that this form (Test) of the game is where we must keep our legacy. We were the best team for something like two decades and we want to keep that rich legacy going.

“I think they have a good young team with four or five guys in their 30s like the Chris Gayles and Dwayne Bravos who are very experienced.

“And we need them around the younger ones coming through, so it’s important that we mix that experience.”

Lara accompanied Trinidad and Tobago to the recent Champions League Twenty20 in India where they finished an impressive fourth.

The Caribbean powerhouses reached the semi-finals where they lost to eventual champions Mumbai Indians by six wickets.