England dealt a Rauf deal: Tourists fall to Murali as umpire gets it so wrong

When the otherwise excellent Asad Rauf rapidly raised his finger to send Ryan Sidebottom on his way when he had inside-edged a Muttiah Muralitharan delivery into his pad late into a fifth successive day of cricketing excellence, England finally had to concede the most painful of defeats.

You're kidding: Ryan Sidebottom cannot believe he's been given out leg before to Murali after his shot took a huge inside edge

The last rites may have been applied a few minutes later when Matthew Hoggard, severely restricted by the back injury that threatens to end his tour, was yorked by Lasith Malinga, but by then the stuffing had been knocked out of England by a combination of the remarkable Murali and the harshest misfortune.

As if it has not been enough for the world record wicket-taker to torment opponents for 15 years with an old ball, he defied cricketing convention yesterday by taking the second new ball and inflicting upon England three terminal blows — one of them assisted by Rauf.

It had all looked so straightforward for Sri Lanka when England collapsed yesterday morning as quickly as the roof of the stand which injured visiting supporters to leave everyone pondering an early departure to Colombo for Sunday's second Test.

But one of the most mature innings of Ian Bell's career and the best that Matt Prior has played for England brought them back into a match they really should have won after reducing Sri Lanka to 42 for five on the first day. Until Murali, predictably and courageously, returned to have the final word.

Who would have thought that England would have been reduced to 136 for six chasing their nominal target of 350 on a last-day pitch at Murali's home ground without the great off-spinner taking a single wicket? And who could have predicted that it would be he, rather than a seamer, who would end England's heroic late resistance with a new ball when they were an hour away from safety with four wickets in hand?

Murali's earlier struggles on an riya Stadium pitch that got slower as the Test wore on put into context Monty Panesar's performance on the fourth day.

With the exception of the odd instance of variable bounce, one example of which accounted for Kevin Pietersen, this Kandy surface got easier for batting. Murali revealed himself to be a mere mortal as he huffed and puffed without, at first, being able to blow England's house down.

If England can be faulted it is in the failure of their top order, with the exception of Bell, to make an impact in either innings. It was that which ultimately cost them their 88-run defeat even more than Murali's nine-wicket contribution in a match that had almost everything.

Four years ago, Michael Vaughan scored a century to earn England a fighting draw at Kandy but this time he was unable even to outlast nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson as Chaminda Vaas, in his 100th Test and so often forced to reside in Murali's shadow, struck a key blow by taking the England captain's edge in the fourth over of the day.

When Vaas quickly added Anderson and Dilhara Fernando produced his most aggressive spell of the match to account for Pietersen, whose fractured little finger will not prevent his participation at Colombo, and Paul Collingwood — the former to one which kept low and the latter to an awfully loose drive to cover — England were facing crushing disappointment.

Praised: Michael Vaughan was impressed by the battling innings of Ian Bell (above)

Yet the supremely promising Ravi Bopara and then the combination of Bell and Prior, not to mention gathering clouds which threatened more rain, made Mahela Jayawardene become increasingly edgy about his team's prospects.

Bopara had moved classily to 34 before he was given out on the front foot by Rauf, as is his wont, to earn Sanath Jayasuriya his 98th and last Test wicket. But Bell and Prior played with a calmness and quiet authority that augurs well for the two formidable battles ahead in Colombo and Galle.

Bell has had a nightmare at first slip but has impressed on his return to No 3 in the batting line-up and he could rarely have played better for his country than here, the pressure inflicted by his dropping of Kumar Sangakkara on 98 on Tuesday seeming to inspire rather than suffocate him.

Prior, meanwhile, was making his return to the England team after breaking a thumb during the World Twenty20 in South Africa. He was under the most intense scrutiny following his failure to earn a central contract, his first-innings duck and a missed stumping in Sri Lanka's second innings. His response, far superior to his debut century against a hapless West Indies, suggests that England coach Peter Moores is right to invest so much faith in a man he virtually discovered when he was 13.

The England pair added 109 for the seventh wicket and, more importantly, had taken their side to within sight of safety 45 minutes after tea before Murali bowled one over with the new ball and then switched to the end where he enjoyed his first-innings success.

He first clean bowled Prior with what Vaughan described as a doosra but which looked suspiciously straight, then Bell with another straight one that the batsman expected to turn a lot. The similarities between these and his record-breaking first-innings dismissal of Collingwood was striking.

Just as Hoggard and Sidebottom looked as though they could stick around until the shadows engulfed the ground at around 5.15pm, Rauf provided the one blemish to his fine performance, Malinga proved too hot for an ailing Hoggard and England were left devastated with a maximum of nine overs but more realistically 20 minutes remaining.

It is a long way back from here, with the two remaining Tests following hot on Kandy's heels in the Sri Lankan strongholds of Colombo and Galle, particularly in the probable absence of Hoggard. But Nasser Hussain's England came back from one down to win 2-1 in Sri Lanka six years ago and this England team must believe they can do the same.

In the meantime, shame on Geoff Boycott for recently advocating a switch to four-day Tests and shame on anyone who believes the explosion of Twenty20 cricket will be at the expense of the purest form of the game. This was a five-day Test that emphasised the old game is in the rudest of health and England can consider themselves desperately unlucky they did not take a share of it.