Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva regretted the lack of proper match preparation for the three-match Test series against England. (More Cricket News)
The visitors will be playing a Test in England for the first time in eight years, and Dhananjaya said they had requested for a second warm-up game but it was ruled out.
Sri Lanka faced an England Lions side in Worcester from August 14-17, and were handed a proper seven-wicket defeat at the County Ground in New Road.
The visitors managed to score just 139 in the first innings as the batters struggled to get adjusted to the conditions.
Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews, two of Sri Lanka’s prized wickets with experience also struggled to get going.
The side came up with a better showing in the second innings of the fixture, scoring 306. However, the England Lions were too hot to handle in tough conditions.
"The conditions are quite different to Asian countries. We wanted to play a few matches, but that's what we get. We didn't go with the full-strength [team for the warm-up]. We have tried out a few players as well,” Dhananjaya de Silva was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
The Sri Lankan skipper, however, said that he was not very sure why the second warm-up fixture was denied, but indicated it could have been due to the length of the Test series.
"I have no idea about it," he said. "Maybe because we are playing a three-match series after a long time; maybe that's the reason [for not scheduling another practice game," he said.
Sri Lanka will take on England in the first Test of the series at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester on Wednesday, August 21.
