Warner slams sluggish pitches

– Australian skipper David Warner criticised preparation of Sri Lanka’s pitches following his side’s series-clinching one-day international victory, saying his batsmen were being prevented from scoring big totals.

Warner lauded his teammates for their six-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI on Wednesday, which handed the tourists an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Australia easily chased down their target of 213 in

Dambulla

just 31 overs as Aaron Finch smashed 55 off 19 balls while George Bailey hit an unbeaten 90 after Sri Lanka struggled to 212 all out.

Warner, whose side suffered their first Test whitewash against the hosts last month, said the sluggish pitches were not ideal.

“It’s hard to gain momentum when the wickets are like this,” Warner, who took over as captain after the second ODI while Steve Smith is rested, told reporters.

“It’s a little bit disappointing from our point of view because it’s not the way we like to play. We like to play an aggressive brand of cricket. We like to entertain the crowd.”

England recorded the highest ODI score in history on Tuesday – 444/3 in 50 overs against Pakistan at Trent Bridge – while Australia and Sri Lanka have struggled to get past 200 in their series.

“When you see games like the England match last night – that’s what I love about cricket,” Warner said. –