Sri Lanka lack match practice ahead of series

Sri Lanka skipper bemoans lack of warm-up matches

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva has lamented the lack of proper match preparation ahead of the three-match Test series against England.

The tourists were only able to play one warm-up match before the first Test at Lord's, which they lost by an innings and 12 runs.

"We needed more game time before this series," said De Silva.

"We only had one warm-up match and that wasn't enough to get us up to speed for a Test match against a side like England."

Sri Lanka were also hampered by the absence of several key players, including Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Perera.

De Silva admitted that the team's lack of preparation was a major factor in their defeat at Lord's.

"We were not up to the mark in this match," he said.

"We need to improve our batting and bowling if we want to compete in this series."

Sri Lanka will have a chance to improve their performance in the second Test, which starts at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday.