Perth Scorchers captain Marcus North maintained he was proud of his side's performance despite their seven-wicket loss in the Big Bash League final to the Sydney Sixers on Saturday night.
North's men started poorly but managed to put a competitive 5-156 on the board mainly due to Mitchell Marsh's 77, but they failed to defend the total, as Moises Henriques (70) bludgeoned the Scorchers' attack.
The 32-year-old North said he was satisfied with Perth's effort, but added he missed the chance to hold aloft what would have been Western Australia's first domestic cricket trophy in eight years.
"I would have loved to have been able to lift that trophy today. It would have been a very proud moment for me as a Western Australian," North said.
"Unfortunately it's not our time this year in this competition, but I've got a lot of confidence the form and depth that we've shown in the Sheffield Shield - with a lot of injuries and a lot of changes to the side - we're sitting second and four games at four result venues."
"I'd love to be talking to you guys in five, six weeks time and playing in a Shield final and competing for a Shield final, I firmly believe that we've got the squad to do that."
North praised powerful teenage batsman Marsh for his efforts to hold up the Perth innings, stating that the brother of Test batsman Shaun should anticipate a call-up to the national one-day side.
"I think he's maturing every time he plays. He's a very, very talented player, he's starting to put some consistent performances in," he said.
"Let's not forget he's still a young, young kid, he's only 19 still so...he's played one one-day international and he's going to play some Twenty20 cricket over the next week, and I'm not sure when the one-day squad is but I'd be very surprised if he's not involved in that."
North added that he was ecstatic with the reception the local fans gave the Scorchers in their path to the final, stating that it would have been fitting for the side to repay their faith with a win.
"I've been so overwhelmed by the support that we have got in the state," he said.
"I'm not surprised, I feel that we're so passionate about sport in WA, it doesn't surprise me that once we won a few games, they got behind us."
"To get four sell-outs is just extraordinary, and it's such a privilege to play in that. That's what makes it more hard to swallow tonight...winning tonight would have been good for the public of WA."