The Hindu : Sport : Moody quits as Sri Lanka's coach

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007
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Moody quits as Sri Lanka's coach

Tom Moody. — Photo: AP

Perth: Tom Moody has quit as coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team and will now coach Western Australia, State officials said on Monday.

"We have been able to secure an internationally respected mentor with an impeccable record and in the prime of his coaching career," said Graeme Wood, chief executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association.

Moody, a former Australian Test cricketer, will take over as head coach of Western Australia on July 1, Wood said.

Moody's assistant will be Trevor Penney, who also served in the same capacity with Sri Lanka.

Wood said a sponsorship deal between Moody and Perth-based Indian businessman Vikas Rambal — which was believed to have doubled Moody's yearly salary — helped seal the contract.

Sri Lankan authorities, in a statement from Colombo, said Moody had "conveyed his inability to continue with Sri Lanka Cricket at the end of his contract due to personal and family commitments.

Sri Lanka is grateful to Tom for his valuable contribution to the success of the Sri Lanka national cricket team."

The statement quoted Moody as saying: "It was a very difficult decision to make given the strong relationship that has been built between Sri Lanka Cricket and myself, but at this stage in my life, it was important that I made a bigger commitment to my family."

Kangadaran Mathivanan, secretary to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), said the hunt for a new coach would begin immediately.

"We will look for a foreign coach from tomorrow," Mathivanan told AFP. — AP

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