Whitewash perhaps but humiliation no

Whitewashes are normally humiliating but Sri Lanka's 3-0 loss to Australia was not. The final score line did not reflect the combativeness of Sri Lanka in each of the three Tests. Ricky Ponting admitted as much after the series close, saying that Sri Lanka should be proud of the way they played.

Ponting was not being patronising. He knew that his team had been pushed very hard. Perhaps with greater self-belief and stronger leadership, plus more luck with the decision-making, Sri Lanka may have even the won the series. They certainly created enough opportunities in all three of the Tests played.

For Sri Lanka fans, though, that is a now familiar tale: strong positions surrendered and opportunities spurned. Once again, the leadership of Hashan Tillakaratne played a charitable hand. He was too defensive and uninspiring, unable to stoke sufficient fire in the belly of his players.

In Galle, Sri Lanka were in a prime position after bowling out Australia for a below-par total on the first day. Murali left Australia's media tut-tutting about their players' inadequacies in the sub-continent and England's Guardian newspaper announced the first "mini-crisis" of Ponting's captaincy on his opening day.

But that opportunity was squandered on the third morning, perhaps the crucial session of the series. Sri Lanka's lower middle order laboured when they should have been motoring and Shane Warne pounced, bouncing back to international cricket with a bang.

In Kandy, too, Sri Lanka had Australia on the rack after their crazy decision to bat first on the liveliest pitch of the series. But Sri Lanka's top order - not helped a couple of dodgy decisions - were unable to capitalise and in the second innings they dropped crucial catches.

Still, thanks to Sanath Jayasuriya's sensational strokeplay, Sri Lanka should have bagged a famous win. But a daftly over-aggressive approach from Chaminda Vaas --who had hitherto played so selectively and sweetly -- on the final morning, against Warne when the field was spread wide, cost them dear.

Sri Lanka had already lost by the time in Colombo but they tussled hard for long periods of the game. Unfortunately their butter-fingered catching left them with a mountain to climb after Justin Langer carved out a grueling 166. Were it not for two shocking bat-pad decisions they would surely have saved the game.

The bowling of Murali was generally excellent, although his increasingly defensive attitude was a surprise. Australia appeared to unsettle him with their macho approach, scoring freely rather then blocking like other teams. Nevertheless a series bounty of 28 wickets was a fine achievement.

Vaas provided Murali the kind of loyal, hardworking support that we have come to expect, although he was at times strangely underused as a partnership breaker. Nuwan Zoysa was a revelation in the second test, but, unfortunately, his injury in the final match was a flashback to his frail former years.

The support spin bowling was, yet again, a major concern. Rangana Herath did an admirable job in the final dead rubber, offering Tillakaratne a stock bowling option and also some useful scalps. But the other slow men - Upul Chandana, Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Kumar Dharmasena - were disappointing.

In the batting department, Jayasuriya's return to form was a major boon. Tillakaratne Dilshan once again showed promise although his eagerness to attack has a Mad Max air. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will be disappointed, failing to produce the big scores their talent demands.

Tillakaratne, somewhat predictably, eked out some important runs when it mattered most, his unbeaten 74 probably prolonging his career after the resignation of the captaincy - a noble decision assuming he wasn't pushed. The leadership certainly derailed his batting and he deserves a place in Zimbabwe and Australia.

All in all, there were some reasons to cheer. Three-nil never looks good but you have to take your hats off to Australia. They fought and waited patiently like true predators. There is no doubt they were the better side, but there is no shame in being second best Australia in these times.