Sri Lanka won’t have Moody blues if coach goes

Captain and coach: Mahela Jayawardene and Tom Moody © Getty Ima Tom Moody will consider moving on from Sri Lanka after the World Cup – Western Australia and England are among the potential destinations – and Mahela Jayawardene is in no doubt about his coaching talent. Jayawardene understands Moody is highly sought after but insists the squad’s direction will not change if he leaves. "We have to acknowledge he's been brilliant but Sri Lanka cricket, whether he stays or not, will not divert from where we are going,” Jayawardene told AFP. "If a new coach comes in he'll bring something new to the table and we'll just have to adapt to that. If Tom stays it will be brilliant as well and then we will try to push forward." Jayawardene said Moody has challenged everyone from “Murali to Sanath to myself to the youngest player in the camp”. "Every day we go for practices, we don't just turn up,” he said. “We make sure we try and learn something new as batsmen and bowlers. That's something special Tom has brought into this team and obviously a lot of the guys like the way he handles players as well." Another coach, Adrian Birrell, who will leave the Ireland set-up after the tournament, believes South Africa can win the World Cup. "I may be biased because they are my team, but they are a quality side and have played a great brand of one-day cricket," Birrell said. "If South Africa peak at the right time and play hard, quality matches they can go all the way. They have got every base covered and they do every discipline very well."