Blame the weather and umpires

It turned out into a thrilling Test match but Sri Lanka departed fortress Galle without their now customary early series win. England, understandably, were overjoyed and Sri Lanka's sense of frustration and disappointment was palpable. But there is no reason for them being so.

As new coach John Dyson has been at pains to point out, Sri Lanka dominated the match. England's tenaciousness kept them within sight but they were always behind the eight ball. Were it not for poor weather and some very poor umpiring, Sri Lanka would be 1-0 up.

Some pundits have criticised Sri Lanka for their slow batting on day four. The criticism is harsh. Scoring runs was never easy, as the England's spinners did bowl well, and Mahela Jaywardene was under pressure after a relatively lean spell during the last 18 months.

Moreover, if rain had not washed out 31 overs on the fourth afternoon there would have been plenty of time to force a win. You can take account of the weather but only to an extent. It is an uncontrollable factor not easily predicted in a tropical country like Sri Lanka.

Even considering the loss of valuable time, Sri Lanka would surely have wrapped up an important victory had they not been at the receiving end of the bulk of the bad decisions. England suffered too, the most glaring mistake being Marcus Trescothick's caught behind decision in the first innings, but Sri Lanka have every reason to be peeved.

The last day was littered with umpiring blunders: Dinusha Fernando had Michael Vaughan caught off glove first ball of the day, Gareth Batty was caught at bat-pad off a thick edge early on in his important rearguard effort, and Ashley Giles should have been send packing at twice when palpably lbw in the last session.

The most bizarre decision though was third umpire Gamini Silva's not out call just before tea when Sri Lanka claimed a catch off Paul Collingwood, who then went onto bat for nearly three hours. Darryl Harper referred the decision to double check whether it was a bump ball, which replays showed it wasn't, but Silva pressed the green button.

Replays proved less conclusive as to whether the ball hit the toe or bat (or both), but that should not have been Silva's concern. The playing regulations are crystal clear. The third umpire may decide on whether the catch was taken clearly or whether it was a bump ball. The television umpire is not there to make a judgment on whether the ball touched the bat.

Sri Lanka were seething afterwards and with good reason. They are in the process of making a full complaint to the ICC. The fear is that the one-sided nature of the decision-making has created the potential for an explosive test match in Kandy. Don't be surprised if there's excessive appealing by both sides.

The important thing from Sri Lanka's point of view is to focus on the upcoming match. The good news is that they appear upbeat and positive, happy to see their prize spinner back taking a hatful of wickets and pleased to watch Jayawardene bat himself into form. Expect another closely fought Test in Kandy - and the now normal dollop of hillcountry controversy.