Sri Lankan cricket authorities said on Tuesday they had not been informed of a reported decision by coach Tom Moody to quit after the World Cup and return to Australia.

"He told us that his focus was only on the World Cup and he will be talking to us after the World Cup," Sri Lanka Cricket official K Mathivanan told AFP.

The Cricinfo website quoted Justin Langer, the recently retired Australian opening batsman, as saying that Moody would return home after the World Cup to coach the Western Australia state side.

Moody has been with the Sri Lankans since June, 2005 and the national team are on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals of the World Cup in the Caribbean.

Sri Lanka's cricket chief Jayantha Dharmadasa and captain Mahela Jayawardena have both said they wanted Moody to continue with the national team.

Another Australian, Greg Chappell, ended his two-year tenure with India last week, citing family and personal reasons, following the team's first-round exit from the World Cup.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)