NZ vs SL: "It's Really Disappointing" - Angelo Mathews On Lack Of Tests For Sri Lanka

Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews voiced dissatisfaction with the Island nation’s lack of Test matches, claiming that the gap in the number of Tests countries are able to play is detrimental to the health of the game’s longest format. Angelo Mathews emphasised that Sri Lanka was playing Test cricket for the first time in over six months and threw light on how tough it is for players to create a rhythm from the start of a new series.

Angelo Mathews expressed his desire for Sri Lanka to play more Tests after passing 7000 Test runs with a good 47 on Day 1 of their first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

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 We Are Not Playing Enough Test Matches: Angelo Mathews

Sri Lanka has a chance to go to the World Test Championship final. Australia has already qualified for the summit battle in June, while India will seal their spot if they win the present 4th and final Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad.

Sri Lanka hopes that India loses the fourth Test and that they win the Test series in New Zealand 2-0. Angelo Mathews stated that Sri Lanka has performed admirably in the latest cycle of the World Test Championship, and it is a tremendous shame that there aren’t enough games for them to extend their run.

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“Very much. We are playing for it all. We know that it’s pretty straightforward, we need to win in New Zealand and we need to play extremely good cricket. The boys have been brilliant, especially in this Test championship in the last 8-10 months. But unfortunately, we are not playing Test matches in this year. As few as five,” Angelo Mathews told the press on Thursday.

“It’s really disappointing because, I mean, we are coming off a long layoff. The last Test match was 6 months back and then everyone is talking about Test cricket dying and stuff like that. But we are not doing any good for Test cricket, playing only 5 Tests a year. I think it’s really disappointing. But, hopefully, we will get more matches this year. 5 is definitely not enough,” he added.

Sri Lanka has played 29 Tests since the World Test Championship began in 2019, with England leading the way with 53. India is in second place with 37 Tests. Sri Lanka last played a Test match at home against Pakistan in July 2022, before travelling to New Zealand for the crucial series.

Sri Lanka opened their Test series in New Zealand with a bang, posting 305 for 6 on Day 1 at Stumps in Christchurch. On a green surface, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis both struck fifty as the visitors controlled the New Zealand bowling attack.

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