Tom Moody is convinced Australian cricket remains in a “very strong position” despite their Ashes defeat.
Moody, who played eight Tests and 76 one-day internationals for his country and currently coaches IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, believes losing the urn is not cause for panic.
“I think Australian cricket is in a very strong position. The Australia team played poorly in the past month but Australian cricket in general is very strong,” he told Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek.
“They’ve had a lot of success in the past 12 months and this past month has spoiled a little bit of that glory. But to put it in perspective it’s one series – an important one, but one series. There is a lot of talent coming through the system. The bottom line is Australia is not going to go through a period of doldrums.
“There is a huge amount of talent on tour and a huge amount of talent waiting to get on tour, with bat and ball.
“It will take time to adjust to the loss of Michael Clarke, that’s a big hit and replacing someone of that stature will not be easy but he clearly decided the fire had gone out in his belly and that he couldn’t go on.”
– FOLLOW: Live cricket scores from around the world
– GALLERY: Sachin Tendulkar visits fans in Dubai
– ASHES: Series win surprises England skipper Cook
Moody is also certain that coach Darren Lehmann should not follow Clarke out of the door.
Lehmann has garnered almost universal praise since taking over two years ago and is not under any real pressure for his job despite his side’s dismal capitulation in the last two Tests. “His position is very firm,” said Moody.
“He was a World Cup winning coach three or four months ago and Australia don’t have a habit of ditching coaches when they lose a series. Lehmann hasn’t become a poor coach overnight. This is a mark on his report card but at the end of the day he’s a good coach and he’s done a lot of good things over the last couple of years.”
