NOT long ago, he was declared to be unfit for one-day cricket, but after his stylish 145 against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, Rahul Dravid asserted that ``good technique is no burden in one-dayers''.

``It is sad,'' says the 26-year-old stylish batsman, ``if you are accomplished, you are labelled as no good for limited overs cricket.'' But, he says, he has no regrets about being dropped from the one-day India squad earlier.``It was fair enough. You can't expect things to go your way all the time,'' he mused philosophically.

Reflecting on his bygone days, he says: ``I always backed myself. I had the ability but perhaps I was low on form. It can happen to anybody. What I did was I went back to Ranji Trophy and worked hard on my game. I believed I was good enough to succeed in one-day cricket. I was hoping my form would return and it did. ``It (being sidelined from the Indian team) affects you but I am wiser now. I know how to handle it. There is no point getting too carriedaway or worked up about what appears in print. In fact, I feel there were people writing good things about me when I was down. It kept me going.''

Finally, a place in the sun for Big Tom

Unassuming all-rounder Tom Moody, Australia's batting and bowling hero yesterday, says it has been a long, hard fight to gain the respect of the cricketing establishment.

Moody, in and out of the Australian side for the past 12 years, was the side's hero as Bangladesh were crushed by seven wickets, taking three wickets for 25 and then thrashing the fastest 50 in the history of the World Cup.

It was Moody's first appearance in the World Cup and came after Australia had made a dismal start to the tournament with one win and two defeats. Faced with a bowling crisis, captain Steve Waugh called on his mister dependable, the six foot five inch player.

``It's been a long hard slog to get back and get recognised particularly with the ideas that people have of a 33-year-old,'' Moody said after his performance againstBangladesh, which won him the man of the match award.Moody, captain of Western Australia and a member of English county side Worcestershire since 1991, has played only eight Test matches and 64 one-dayers since he was a member of the squad that won the World Cup in 1987.