Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood said that his team will fight it out–and try their best to reach the final of the World Test Championship as they prepare for the two-Test series in New Zealand. Sri Lanka will need to beat the reigning test champion New Zealand in their yard 2-0 to have a chance of playing in June’s final at The Oval.

Chris Silverwood admitted that qualification for the world championship finals would be a huge achievement for the Sri Lankan team and said that players were desperate to do something special on New Zealand soil.

“It would mean everything to them, The guys are very aware of that and take that responsibility very seriously, so they’ll be desperate to give them something to smile about back at home.

Preparations for the #NZvSL Test series have begun. 🙌

Photo Credit: @BLACKCAPS pic.twitter.com/R9PhYYZpoa

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) March 2, 2023

Former England head coach Silverwood continued that New Zealand has got a brilliant team–and it would not be easy for his team to beat the Kiwis. Sri Lanka hasn’t fared well in New Zealand, winning just twice in 19 previous attempts.

“To get to the WTC Final would be unbelievable, but at the same time we know we’ve got a very good New Zealand team in front of us as well and we have to respect that, work hard, and try and earn that right.”

New Zealand will be coming into the series with an epic win over England to draw the series 1-1 in the second test. It is only the fourth occasion in Test history that a team, forced to follow on went on to win the match, with the previous occasions being England in 1894 and 1981, and India in 2001.

We’re Looking To Get As Ready For The First Test Match – Chris Silverwood

The Sri Lankan team has started to prepare for the 1st test against New Zealand. Speaking to the press ahead of the tour game against New Zealand XI in Lincoln, Silverwood said

“We’re looking to get as ready as possible for the first test match, we want to hit the road running, and to do that we have to make sure that we prep well here, We want to make sure the batsmen get a good hit and get used to conditions and that bowlers get overs under their belts as well.”

The Kiwis will begin their new adventure in the Test format against Sri Lanka on 9th March at Hagley Oval. Sri Lanka is set to play two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is on this tour.