Sri Lanka can return home with pride, says Moody

World Cup: Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody is confident that his team will be a major force in international cricket despite losing the World Cup final against Australia here.

"We have made a significant progress as a group in the last couple of years and if we continue to maintain the professionalism there's no reason why Sri Lanka can't compete on a regular basis with teams like Australia," he said.

Australia became the first team on Saturday to win the Cup for a third successive time when they beat Sri Lanka by 53 runs on Duckworth-Lewis method in the rain-hit final at the Kensington Oval.

"Sri Lanka can walk away from this World Cup feeling very proud of what they have achieved. It was very hard to get to this point," said Moody.

"A lot of hard work had gone into it. I think they had an exceptional World Cup and to find themselves in the final against the best team in the world is a great achievement." Moody said Sri Lanka's cricket had a bright future although quite a few players were near the end of their one-day careers.

"Sri Lanka has got depth and talent which needs the right opportunity and perseverance. They play the game with a lot of passion and pride. They play the game hard," he said.

Moody said one of the main reasons for Sri Lanka's successes was their excellent strength in depth.

"We found ourselves in strong positions many times because the players we had in the reserves are capable of playing in the first eleven. The main reason we reached the final was that we had a good bench-strength," he said.

Sri Lanka advanced to the final for only the second time, having won the Cup in 1996 against Australia at Lahore.

Moody was disappointed that his side did not get a chance to figure in a 100-over final after playing consistent cricket for nearly two months in the Caribbean.

Sri Lanka had won eight of their 10 matches before the rain-hit final which eventually saw them chasing 269 off 36 overs. They managed 215-8 before losing the game in darkness. "It is disappointing that after nearly two months of playing in the World Cup you get to the final and can't play a complete 100-over game," he said.

"I think we were only half-a-yard away from winning the World Cup. We were very close, so I think this team is capable of winning the next World Cup. There's no reason why Sri Lanka won't continue its upward curve."

Moody said it would have been very interesting had his side played the full final or even a 38-overs-a-side as was decided after the morning rain.

"I think we were on the track when chasing. Even Australia were aware what Sri Lanka were capable of doing. It would have been interesting if we had a full 38 overs or, even better, 100," he said.

"Australia are an exceptional, professional and efficient outfit and they showed that in the World Cup final. We felt we ran a close race with them yesterday. We were on target. "We lost a couple of crucial wickets when we felt we had to be close to the Duckworth-Lewis method because of the conditions. It was disappointing given the confusion about the conditions and completion of the game." He said he had not yet decided on his future.

"I a1m not making any decision on my future. I have a chance to reflect, sit back and have a look where I want to be professionally and personally in the next stage of my career," said Moody, whose contract expires in May and who is widely tipped to take over as coach of Western Australia.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados