Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews is all set to make his 100th appearance in the longest format of the game in the second Test against Pakistan, starting Sunday (July 24) in Galle.

On the eve of the match, Mathews said he draws inspiration from veteran England pacer James Anderson for longevity in the sport.

Recently, England’s ace all-rounder Ben Stokes called time on his 50-over career, citing that he was not being able to give his 100 percent to the team in ODIs and playing all three formats amid a busy schedule is "unsustainable" for him.

When asked about Stokes' decision, the 35-year-old Mathews said he still had a lot of cricket left in him across all formats.

"My inspiration is Jimmy Anderson. At 40 being a fast bowler he still wants to play a couple of more years," Mathews told reporters.

"See it's the drive that you have towards the game. It's not going to stop here. I still have a few more years."

While Mathews admitted that cricket had "taken a toll on my body" in recent years, he is keen to work on his fitness.

"Age is just a number and I am still willing to give it my best in all three formats."

In 99 Tests, Angelo Mathews has amassed 6876 runs at an average of 45.24 with 13 centuries and 38 fifties. He also has 33 Test wickets to his name but he now seldom bowls due to injuries.

"I haven't given up bowling in T20s and ODIs. But when you play Test cricket in the subcontinent, my type of bowling will not suit the team that much," he said.

The second Test against Pakistan will be Sri Lanka's last this season. Mathews urged the country’s cricket board to include more red-ball matches in the team's itinerary.

"I prefer Test cricket. We like if there are many more Test matches because most of the leading players want to play more Test cricket," he said.

"But, unfortunately, I think we have about seven Test matches for next 18 months or so. We hope SLC would make arrangements to include few more Test matches."

(With AFP inputs)