Wounds inflicted by last Friday?s humiliating Stanford 20/20 Tournament defeat at the hands of the Jamaicans might take some time to heal.

Yet Bermuda national cricket team skipper Clay Smith ? who has urged his team-mates to quickly put the defeat to rest and continue to move forward ? reckons valuable lessons will have been learned from the traumatic experience.

?I just think we were totally outclassed. We have four top class batsmen who normally produce for us but it just happened that in this one particular game they failed and it hurt us,? said Smith, who topped the ICC Intercontinental Cup batting averages last year.

?The Jamaicans came out with their ?A? game on Friday night and the adrenaline was flowing. They had the advantage and kept their foot on the pedal the whole time and we were never able to recover.

?But even if I was there who is to say that I would have made a difference. That?s cricket and we must now show some character and rebound from it.

?I?m sure the boys will bounce back and work hard and show some character going in the next game. Obviously I miss every single game that we play.?

Smith has only recently returned to playing competitive cricket domestically following knee surgery earlier this year in the US, but remains well on course to return to the international scene in Toronto next month.

Bermuda meet hosts Canada at the Toronto Cricket Club in Ontario in their opening four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup clash, beginning August 12.

Bermuda defeated the Canadians by 48 runs and Cayman Islands by an innings last August to clinch the Americas Group and advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Smith scored 361 runs in four turns at bat at an average of 120.33 run per innings and had a high score of 138 ? achieved against Cayman Islands ? during last year?s ICC Intercontinental Cup.

?I?m probably about 75 percent where I want to be,? Smith continued. ?I have been doing a lot of training in the last month in terms of my fitness and strength, and the work is definitely paying off.?

The veteran batsman showed signs he is fast returning to top form last Saturday at Sea Breeze Oval where he fashioned a polished innings that helped lay the groundwork for St.David?s? successful Eastern Counties first round defence against rivals Bailey?s Bay.

Smith carved 73 runs of 66 balls to help spur St.David?s to a five-wicket win over arch rivals Bay.

The Whitney Institute school teacher later described his near flawless innings as ?encouraging?.

?The last two weeks I have been hitting the ball pretty good and I knew something big was coming soon,? Smith said. ?And today (Saturday) I was able to produce the goods.?

With Cup Match just over a week away, Smith ? the only local cricketer to have scored three centuries in the classic ? has again made himself available for selection in the East End.

?I will be there, although I can?t say that I am going to play Cup Match because you have to be selected,? Smith said.

?But I have made myself available for Cup Match.?