Tom Moody spoke to the media after his first Test match day in charge of Sri Lanka
Charlie Austin13-Jul-2005Tom MoodyOn his overview of the dayIt was a good tough day of Test cricket on a good batting pitch and our guys fought hard throughout most of the day. A couple of bat-pads went close but were not taken. The West Indies showed a lot of character and batted well throughout the day. Chanderpaul continued the brilliant form he has had since taking over as captain. Morton showed some character and the young wicketkeeper Ramdin showed a lot of composureOn whether Sri Lanka were ring-rusty after a lay-offThere were some signs that the boys have not played Test cricket for a few months. We got better and better as the day went on and I’m sure that will continue as the game progresses. It is early days on a very good cricket wicket and we are looking forward to day two. The game is very much in the balance at the moment. We just need to hang in there and fight hard. When we get a chance to bat we have to make them payOn whether Sri Lanka may have taken West Indies lightlyYou can’t take any team lightly at this level and I know the boys weren’t taking the West Indians lightly.On Sri Lanka’s fieldingWe were a little bit sloppy in the field at times but nothing to send off any alarm signals.On Murali’s comebackI am not disappointed at all with Murali’s performance after an 11-month absence. He conceded just 56 runs from 29 overs and beat the bat on several occasions.On Malinga’s no balls and Wijekoon’s debutThat [Malinga’s no balls] is something we need to sit down and work on in practice. But he showed his great value as a strike bowler with a couple of crucial wickets. He is an exciting cricketer and this is an area where we can help to improve his game. I thought Gayan did a good job. He is playing in the side as an all rounder and he took a couple of wickets and shared some of the workload. He will also play an important role down the order with the bat.Denesh RamdinOn his debut performanceI was surprised that I did not have any butterflies. I just went out there and tried to be positive. It was a shame to not get a hundred but maybe I can do that in the second innings.On West Indies’ dayIt was generally a good day for us, although a couple got starts but were not able to go on. Hopefully, we can come back tomorrow and carry on.