Third time lucky for Moody

Tom Moody © Getty Images

Ask most coaches at the World Cup what it feels like to lift the trophy and they will be forced to admit they have no idea.

But Sri Lanka boss Tom Moody has experienced that high twice already and is now aiming to be the first man to win one-day cricket's biggest prize both as player and coach.

The former Australia batsman was a key component of his country's successes in 1987 and 1999 and has great memories of both tournaments.

“They're very big highlights - there's no question about it - for two very different reasons,” he said.

“They were two very different World Cups. In one, we were favourites, in the other we were very much underdogs.”

It is difficult to remember a time when Australia did not dominate both long and short forms of the game but that is exactly the way it was in 1987 when they were far from pre-eminent.

It is likely to be that experience, rather than the more expected 1999 triumph, that Moody draws upon when he leads Sri Lanka in the Caribbean.

Moody passes on some advice on how to win to Mahela Jayawardene © Getty Images

Should he lift the trophy for a third time, Moody believes the feelings would be very different from doing so as a player but no less special.

“It'd be a very rewarding and satisfying outcome if that's the case,” he said.

“It'd be nice to look back in time and see that I've managed to achieve success as a player in a World Cup and also as a coach.

“You can't really compare one to the other. Both would be particularly special in their own way.”

Moody's unexpected 1987 victory has something in common with Sri Lanka's famous win in 1996.

Ironically, it was the only World Cup Moody missed out on during his playing days and Australia were famously beaten in the final.

Sri Lanka were widely credited with re-inventing the one-day game with their bravura batting at the top of the order but Moody believes too much emphasis was placed on that approach.

It soon became the fashion to try and emulate those tactics, something Moody reckons was the undoing of many sides at the following World Cup.

“On a lot of occasions it failed abysmally, because you have to weigh up the conditions that you're playing in,” he said.

Sanath Jayasuriya redefined one-day batting in the 1996 World Cup © Getty Images

“Sri Lanka did that well in '96, where they were playing in the sub-continent, playing on good wickets and the ball didn't bounce, or seam or swing a hell of a lot and you can play that free game up front and they had the players to do it.”

However, the huge array of new stadia built to host this World Cup means he and his fellow coaches will have little idea what kind of pitches await them in the Caribbean.

Moody said: “It's going to be a test for us all. The most important thing from a Sri Lankan point of view is that we adjust as quickly as possible to whatever conditions there are.

“We feel confident with the balance of our side now that we can do that.”

His side's chances will doubtless be improved should those new wickets be conducive to spin, playing into the hands of star man Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sri Lanka are often accused of relying to heavily on the genius of Murali, but Moody insists this is no longer the case.

He said: “I'm wanting 11 people to make a contribution and every one of those 11 not expecting anyone else to carry the load.

“We've been fortunate enough that a couple of young bowlers have come through the system. We've managed to persevere with them and they've matured with the opportunities they've been given over the last 12 months.”

Whether Moody is able to emulate his success as a player remains to be seen but his only demand is that his players perform to their potential.

“Success to me is we manage to play throughout the World Cup the brand of cricket we know we're capable of doing,” he said.

“If we do that, I'll be very surprised if we're not in the competition right towards the end.”