SOUTHERN Brave coach Mahela Jayawardena pointed to below par performances with the bat as the main reason for his side’s failed title defence in the men’s Hundred.

The Brave missed out on starting the competition with back-to-back titles, suffering five defeats and only winning three times.

Jayawardena was speaking after his side lost their final group game against Northern Superchargers at Headingley today, highlight his point about batting struggles as they fell short of chasing 136.

“The reflection is we were not consistent with the bat,” said the Sri Lanka legend.

“I don’t think we were good enough.

“The way the competition went, we had to dominate with the bat.

“Especially with our bowlers, we had a lot of injuries and didn’t have our main attack. So the batters had to step up, and they didn’t.

"That’s part and parcel I guess, and going forward we just need to take stock and see what we need to do.”

Comparing the stats from this year to last illustrate Jayawardena’s point. Last year, captain James Vince (229), Quinton de Kock and Alex Davies (both 202) all topped the 200-run mark for the tournament.

This year, not one batter did that. Davies, with 155, was their leading run-scorer.

Jayawardena, however, refused to be too downbeat, pointing to young guns Rehan Ahmed and Sonny Baker as signs for optimism moving forwards.

Leicestershire leg-spinning all-rounder Ahmed was his side’s standout performer in defeat with two for 20 and 33 with the bat, while Somerset quick Baker also struck twice.

“We’re quite happy with the younger guys we’ve introduced,” said Jayawardena.

“Rehan especially and Sonny, these are young kids that can be part of the franchise. So we’ve invested in that right direction. Once the senior boys come back in and we can get that nucleus back in, we’ll be good for next season.

“It’s a tough tournament. All the teams are playing some good cricket, and if you make too many mistakes - like we did today - you can’t survive.”

While the Brave finished seventh out of eight teams, the Superchargers are placed just above them with four wins and four defeats.

Overseas South African quick Wayne Parnell starred with four for 16 in a 16-run win.

“Obviously it’s been a little bit up and down for us, but finishing off with a victory at Headingley is really special,” he added. “The crowd has been great throughout the whole competition, so it’s just nice to send them off with that.”