Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach, said he was embarrassed by the derogatory reaction and negative attention directed towards Muttiah Muralitharan by Australian crowds. Muralitharan's unorthodox bowling action came under scrutiny in Australia, where he was no-balled for a suspect action on two tours.
The treatment meted out by the crowds in reaction to these on-field episodes prompted him to boycott Sri Lanka's 2004 tour to Australia. John Howard, the Australian prime minister, joined the clamour by labelling Muralitharan a "chucker".
"As an Australian when I have been with the Sri Lankan team in Australia, or playing against them in the World Cup, it's the only situation we find in the whole of the cricketing world where we have this disgraceful slant on a cricketer," Moody told The Australian.
"My take on it, and I hope I'm right, and I've shared this with Murali, is that it's Australia's nature to show that response in a way of respect and acknowledgement of someone who is pretty special and unique".
Moody, who has taken up a coaching role with Western Australia, puts this attitude down to the competition between Muralitharan and Shane Warne, who finished his career as the world's leading wicket-taker with 708 Test victims. Muralitharan is second in the all-time list with 674 dismissals.
"They're protecting their own," Moody said. "Australia has produced the greatest legspinner of all time and Australians are very proud of that. There's that constant comparison between Warne and Murali, but I just think you cannot even begin to try and compare the two."
Muralitharan was first no-balled by Darrell Hair in the 1995 Boxing Day Test and Ross Emerson also called him in an ODI at Adelaide four years later. When the Sri Lankans walked off the field after the second incident, only an intervention by the respective boards and the ICC saved the tour.
Muralitharan's action was subsequently cleared under the ICC's 15-degree rule. He has toured Australia since his 2004 boycott and looks set to visit Australia again in November for a two-Test series.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Aussie crowds embarrass Moody
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Sri Lanka Cricket look towards John Wright as the next coach.
Sri Lanka Cricket, has shortlisted some high profiled names in the field, and according to the SLC sources, ex-New Zealand test cap (Ex Indian coach) John Wright leads the table among others.
"John Wright has done a wonderful job with India and he’ll be our favourite choice," a cricket official told ‘The Island’ yesterday
"We’ll be talking to him and if he’s willing to take over, we will go ahead with John," the official added.
Former Australian opener and coach Geoff Marsh, former South African coach Graham Ford and Greg Shepherd, who is the coach at Victoria, Australia have been other names that have been thought of as suitable replacements, but for the moment the former New Zealand opener looks to be the choice of most top officials.
"John is a proven coach unlike most of the other names that have been thought of. That means his price will be high too compared to some of the others, but nevertheless it’s an investment worth making," the official said.
But I personally have other ideas. It was "non proven" coaches (at international level) who had been succesful with Sri Lanka all the time. Look at Whatmore. Look at Moody. They evolved as top coaches, with Sri Lanka. So, I personally prefer if the board go for some new name, rather than bringing an ex-Indian coach to Sri Lanka.
One of the senior players of the national team told ‘The Island’ before the team’s departure to Abu Dhabi that it’s vital for the board to bring in a coach who will take the team to the next level instead of someone who tries to stamp his authority. "Tom was ideal. He was very methodical and tried to improve every aspect." he said.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Moody will Return to West Australia. Who Will Be the next Sri Lankan Coach?
Successful Sri Lankan coach, Tom Moody declared his resignation from Sri Lanka Cricket coach position, and said that he will return to West Australia where he started his coaching career. There were speculations that Moody is going to be next English coach, but he decided against it at the end.
Sri Lanka Cricket has made a request to fielding coach Trevor Penney to act as caretaker coach for the side's series against Bangladesh in June-July.
Moody said his family, who lived in England while he worked in Sri Lanka, played a large part in his decision. "It was a very difficult decision to make given the strong relationship that has been built between SLC and myself," he said.
"But at this stage in my life it was important that I made a bigger commitment to my family. However, I will be more than happy to assist in whichever way I possibly can for the continuous success of SLC."
It is expected Moody's advice will play a role in determining who succeeds him.
When Tom Moody was appointed as Sri Lanka coach, many questioned whether it was the right decision. When he leave his possition, he has proven a point that it was a right decision by SLC. We've seen, Dav Whatmore coming out of the blue and doing miracles with 1996, WC winning Sri Lanka team. Moody did the exact same thing. Now, both Whatmore and Moody are highly demanded Cricket coaches in the international level.
So far there's no reports of who would be the next coach of Sri Lanka Cricket team. As at now, the position for "coach" is vacant in all 4 test playing nations in the sub continent, making it more difficult for all 4 boards to attract "quality" coaches, at "reasonable price".
