Moody set for Sri Lanka role

India's recruitment of Greg Chappell as their new coach leaves Sri Lanka poised to sign up his fellow Australian Tom Moody. A deal is expected to be finalised early next week after a formal interview on Monday or Tuesday.

Sri Lanka had been forced to put their own recruitment process on hold because of India's interest in both Moody and Chappell, the two favourites to take the Sri Lanka job after several weeks of discussions with a range of possible candidates.

Moody was considered Sri Lanka's first-choice candidate anyway, because Chappell's other work commitments might have affected his availability between tours, and board sources have privately expressed their delight that Moody is now available.

"We hope to have an interview with Tom early next week, probably on Monday and Tuesday," Jayantha Dharmadasa, the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, told Cricinfo on Friday. Moody is expected to travel to Colombo over the weekend.

Sri Lanka have already had preliminary discussions regarding possible terms, and the interview is expected to be a mere formality. The contract will probably be for two years up until the 2007 World Cup.

Moody, who played eight Tests and 76 one-day internationals for Australia, is currently the director of cricket at Worcestershire. He has been linked to several coaching jobs in recent months, including the England post during speculation earlier in the year that Duncan Fletcher might call it quits at the end of the summer.