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Kingston - Philo Wallace’s indifferent form in the first phase of the Red Stripe Bowl has prompted concern from Barbados coach William Bourne, ahead of this weekend’s Final Four.

"We are concerned about it, but we expect at some time Philo will get runs," Bourne told Nationsport after the big opening batsman recorded his fourth insignificant contribution of the tournament, against the United States on Monday.

"He started to look good. He had a nice approach to batting, but then he was lbw (offering no stroke).

"I don’t think he will come through the tournament without scoring any runs," he added.

"It does happen at times, but I am confident that he will get some and hopefully get some in the games that really matter."

Wallace, the team’s most consistent scorer at this level, has managed only 44 runs (ave. 11.00) from four innings in this tournament: nought v Canada, 15 v Trinidad and Tobago, 17 v Jamaica and 12 v United States.

On three of those occasions he fell to loose strokes, but it was evident in his last two innings that he was making a determined effort to get a big score.

"I just want him to be positive," Bourne said when asked what advice he would have for the former Barbados captain.

"I want him to play as he is accustomed to playing batting long as well. I know that if he bats for 20 overs, he’s going to get a good score."

The form of Test openers Sherwin Campbell (49 runs, ave. 16.33) and Adrian Griffith (61 runs, ave. 20.33) has also been patchy.

In light of their modest runs, Bourne said, it was important that they get as much practice as possible ahead of the semifinals, scheduled for Friday and Saturday. However, he added, there was a small problem in getting extended batting sessions.

"The batters need to get a little more practice and a little more confidence in what they are doing," the coach said.

"But it’s a little difficult with just the team here. The bowlers are the ones who have to be bowling all the time, so it’s going to be very hard on them, but it’s something that we have to do."

Manager Tony Howard said the practice sessions would likely be light as a result of a couple of niggling injuries with the 14-man squad.

He attributed Monday’s two-wicket loss to the United States to a combination of factors.

"The pitch was not the best for batting early on. They recognised that and they put us in," said Howard, who also made mention of the three changes made in order to allow those who had not played yet to get a game.

"Notwithstanding that, I don’t think we batted well. We should have batted out the overs, but we didn’t. It was difficult to defend a score of 129, even though the guys made a big effort."

Bourne added that if Barbados were going to lose a match it was better that it happened at this stage.

"When we go into the semifinals we have got to up our game," he said.

© The Barbados Nation