In a hollow room near the main entrance to the Ranjiv Gandhi Stadium, Cobras coach Shukri Conrad sat in front of the media, sighed, and then gave the assembled journalists exactly what they were hoping for.

"Unfortunately, I hate to say it, we choked a little bit under the pressure," he said, drawing smiles around the room. "Let it be a learning experience for all of us."

Whether or not he was being too harsh on his side was difficult to say, mostly because the 'c' word has been used so often in describing South African defeats in big tournaments that its true meaning has been lost along the way.

The Cobras had dropped three catches in the field - most crucially Justin Ontong's shelling of Dwayne Bravo in the 14th over - and essentially allowed Trinidad a far easier run into the Champions League final. They'd also missed a couple of potential run-outs and misfielded on several occasions to permit easy runs.

In a match that was only decided in the final over, every little bit counts and there was no hiding the fact that the Cobras had not dealt with the pressure at all well.

"It leaves a feeling of what could have been," said captain Andrew Puttick afterwards. "If we'd taken our chances and got them a few more wickets down then who knows what would have happened. All credit to Trinidad, they definitely took their chances and played the pressure situations a lot better than us."

But the question is why that had happened when the South African side had greater experience and older heads on their shoulders than the team from the Caribbean. Even if you were to turn the audio off and just watch the two captains address the press you could tell who came from the team wrapped up in nerves.

Obviously a win makes any post-match press conference easy work, but the fact that Puttick was unwilling to single out a particular moment that changed the game was telling. He came close, but then balked, saying: "I think the game was in the balance when... jeez, actually I'm not going to say anything on that."

It all rather suggested that there was an elephant in the Cobras dressing room that was not being acknowledged.

Make no mistake, ratting out teammates or blaming losses on one man is no way to deal with defeat, but taking responsibility is crucial if sportsmen are to survive the school of hard knocks and graduate as champions.

As if to prove the point, Puttick's approach was put in sharp contrast when Trinidad skipper Daren Ganga laid out the blueprint for his side's success.

"At the end of the day I think we are quite clear about what we want to accomplish as a team. We sit down, we take ownership in terms of what plans we set for ourselves and we buy into it," he said, indicating that individual responsibility is a big part of the team's continued growth.

"Moreso, it's about enjoying our cricket more than putting ourselves under pressure in a big occasion."

Stuck in a self-perpetuating cycle where losing key games highlights weakness under pressure and breeds further insecurities, South African cricket might do well to follow that final sentence next time around. It's certainly worked for Trinidad and Tobago.