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Moody warns of crowd chaos
The Lancashire Evening Telegraph - 19 June 1999

Big Tom Moody is calling for calm from supporters ahead of tomorrow's World Cup final showdown between Australia and Pakistan at Lords.

The East Lancs professional of 1988 has voiced his fears over the players safety following the pitch invasions which marred Pakistan's semi final clash with New Zealand at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The game ended in chaos as jubilant Pakistani supporters twice broke through the security cordone and ran onto the pitch, which resulted in play being suspended for more than 10 minutes.

The Aussie all-rounder wants to avoid any repeat and is pleading with fans to act sensibly, otherwise players could be at risk.

``We are quite concerned about it and it's certainly not an ideal situation especially if the game goes down to the wire like ours did on Thursday,'' said Moody.

``We certainly don't want a repeat of what happened at the end of the Pakistan v New Zealand semi-final.

``But hopefully people will be sensible about it, respect the occasion and behave appropriately.''

Moody still hasn't come down to earth since the Aussies nerve-jangling last over victory against South Africa at Egbaston on Thursday.

Lance Klusener's late heroics looked to have secured a place in the final for Hansie Cronje's men until Allan Donald was run out in dramatic style just one run short of victory. ``It was an amazing game which ebbed and flowed one way then the other and nobody really had full control at any point,'' said Moody.

``But it was just great to be on the winning side at the end.

``It did get very tense at times but I think it was a lot worse for the fans who were watching from the sidelines than it was for the players out in the middle.

``But we've gone from strength to strength as the competition has gone on.

``We had a slow start but we've clicked into gear over the last six games and peaked at the right time.

``There's no point playing every game like a final from the start because you wouldn't be able to sustain that throughout the tournament.''

Moody was absent from the starting line-up when Pakistan won a high-scoring encounter between the two sides in the group stages.

But he's looking forward to making amends tomorrow in what will be the biggest game of his career so far.

``It's the most important game of my career, there's no question about that.

``My first Test was a special match but games don't come any bigger than a World Cup final at Lords.

``The attitude in our camp is very positive, like it has been throughout.

``But Pakistan have got a number of high class players like Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar.

``Saqlain Mushtaq is also a fine spin bowler and then there's the 'Express Man' Shoaib Akhtar.

``So they've got a very strong side.''


Source: The Lancashire Evening Telegraph