Lack of preparation time and warm-up matches is ‘not ideal’, Anderson suggests
James Anderson believes Sri Lanka may have a “slight advantage” going into their Test series against England later this month.
With Sri Lanka playing a two-Test series in South Africa and England’s red-ball specialists having not played since August, Anderson accepts his side’s preparation for this series is “not ideal”.
Instead of the period of acclimatisation which would normally precede such a series, England have had to content themselves with preparing in a large marquee at the national performance centre in Loughborough. They will also go into the first Test, which starts on January 14, without playing a competitive warm-up match.
England’s touring party are currently serving a quarantine period in individual hotel rooms in Hambantota. Subject to further negative tests, scheduled to be carried out on Tuesday morning, they will resume training that afternoon.
“The whole situation is not ideal for…