Sri Lankan Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva made shocking allegations against the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ahead of the upcoming three-match Test series.
Dhananjaya de Silva stated that the ECB did not permit them to play more warm-up matches before the red-ball series in England.
Sri Lanka lost their four-day warm-up match by seven wickets against England Lions. The match took place in Worcester from August 14 to August 17.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 139 runs on the first day. Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, and Dhananjaya de Silva scored half-centuries in the second innings.
Eight players from the warm-up match will play the first Test against England. Kamindu Mendis, Vishwa Fernando, and Asitha Fernando will join the squad for the series opener. 28-year-old seamer Milan Rathnayake will make his Test debut after taking a wicket in each innings of the warm-up match.
I Have No Idea About It – Dhananjaya de Silva
Speaking ahead of the Test series, Dhananjaya de Silva expressed disappointment over not having more warm-up games. De Silva said that they had hoped to play more than one warm-up match to adapt to the conditions in England.
“The conditions are quite different to Asian countries. We wanted to play a few matches, but that’s what we got. We didn’t go with the full-strength [team]. We have tried out a few players as well. The result didn’t go our way, but we had the preparation, I think. It’ll work in this match,” Dhananjaya was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The Sri Lanka captain said that he had “no idea” why Sri Lanka’s request for an extra warm-up match was denied. He stated that they are playing a three-match series after a long time, adding that it might be the reason for not having a second warm-up match.
“I have no idea about it. Maybe because we are playing a three-match series after a long time; maybe that’s the reason,” Dhananjaya added.
Our Mental State Is Good – Dhananjaya de Silva
Dhananjaya de Silva stated that his team received valuable preparation despite losing the practice match. Dhananjaya also mentioned that the first Test match might be rain-affected, and added that they picked three quick bowlers to adapt to the conditions.
“Our mental state is good. Yes, we lost the practice match, but that match is there for our training. Within that, we got the preparation we wanted,” Dhananjaya continued.
“From the looks of it, it’ll be a rain-affected match. I thought because of that, it’s best to go with three quicks because we will go in and out of the game,” he further stated.
The Sri Lanka national cricket team will take on the England national cricket team in the first Test match at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, starting on Wednesday, August 21. Following the first Test, the two teams will play the second match at Lord’s in London from August 29 to September 2.
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