"Ricky Ponting was the songmaster....": Moody reflects on 1999 WC win
Aug 17, 2024
London [UK], August 17 : Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody reminisced on Australia's 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup win as he returns to the iconic Lord's Stadium, the venue of the Aussies win over Pakistan in the title clash, for The Hundred tournament final as the coach of Oval Invincibles.
The final of The Hundred competition in the UK will take place on Sunday. 25 years after his victory in the 1999 WC along with Australia, Moody has entered Lord's with an aim to win two back-to-back titles with Oval Invincibles.
Reminiscing on the team's World Cup win, Moody said that though the Aussies entered the tournament as favourites after finishing runners-up to Sri Lanka in 1996, the team played poorly in their first half of the competition, losing their Pool B matches to New Zealand and Pakistan and barely making it to the top three in their group in order to reach the Super Six, where they were undefeated.
"We came in as favourites, but we played poorly for the first half of the tournament. We basically had to win seven in a row to be crowned champions. Being part of that journey for those seven games was pretty special," said Moody as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
Australia thrashed Pakistan in the final by eight wickets, chasing down 133 runs in just 20.1 overs, with Shane Warne (4/33) and Adam Gilchrist (54) pulling off memorable performances. Moody also dismissed all-rounders Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood in the final.
"We had a long period of time in the dressing room to enjoy the experience of the journey and the occasion. All sorts of people came through, from family to famous cricket fans, but we were in our own bubble," Moody recalled.
Moody reminisced that after the win, the team gathered together to sing their song, 'Beneath the Southern Cross'.
"Traditionally in the Australian team, we would always sing that team song after a Test or a one-day series win. Ricky Ponting was the songmaster, and he delivered it on my shoulders, right in the middle. My lower back is still recovering," he concluded.
In the 1999 WC, Moody scored 117 runs in five innings at an average of 117.00 with a fifty and took seven wickets as well.
