Vaughan's side were overwhelmed in the third Test

BBC Sport runs the rule over Michael Vaughan's men after a disappointing Test series.

Michael Vaughan
Finally Vaughan shrugged off the shackles of captaincy and scored his first century as skipper, a suitably dogged knock to save the second Test.

In other innings he gave a mouth-watering glimpse of his talents - the occasional electric cut or crisp cover-drive - before getting out in disappointing manner.

As captain he has been hamstrung by injuries and inconsistent performance, although he could perhaps have relied on his spinners more heavily in the first Test.

Marcus Trescothick
The key to this series was always going to be the battle between Muralitharan and England's left-handers

Trescothick, previously imperious against the unorthodox spinner, fell to him three times, although on two occasions he helped get England off to a blazing start, his top score 70 in Colombo.

His slip-catching proved a liability in the final Test, with three missed chances going against his name as the home side reached 628.

Mark Butcher
Two battling half-centuries, especially the second on the final day, were the main reason for England's hard-fought first Test draw.

He failed twice in Galle but got two starts in the final match without capitalising, and his dismissal for 37 on the fourth morning in Colombo marked the end of any lingering English hopes.

Nasser Hussain
The vultures are circling after a series in which Hussain's highest score was 17. Although he missed the opening match with a throat infection he added little on his return.

Series between England and Sri Lanka are never love-fests but simmering tensions between the two sides erupted again when Hussain's sledging of Muralitharan were made public.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of what followed, Sri Lanka were highly motivated to finish the series strongly.

Graham Thorpe
Another left-hander, Thorpe fell to Muralitharan on five occasions in six innings.

The veteran proved unable to deal with Murali's new delivery, which spins the other way, and he suffered the consequences with starts on five occasions but just a single half-century.

Paul Collingwood
Finally handed his Test cap when Hussain pulled out on the first morning of the series, Collingwood has been as gritty as expected without making a big score.

Totals did not matter when he faced 153 deliveries in Galle to help salvage the first Test or saw hour and a half late in the second, but he could not stick around to the end of either match.

Andrew Flintoff
England's most threatening seam bowler, and the most economical of the entire attack, again failed to take the wickets he deserved, but to his credit he never gave up hope.

Only Vaughan and Giles deserve ratings of 7 out of 10 From Thomas Haines Have your say on TMS

However there is always a fine line to tread over the all-rounder's fitness, and the back trouble he suffered taking a heavy bowling load Kandy meant England had to cut their batting for the last match.

As a batsman he remains the icing on the cake, and often there is no cake. But at least he broke his subcontinent jinx with 77 in Colombo, and displayed his increasing patience in the process.

Chris Read
Gareth Batty's promotion above him in Colombo showed Read how highly his batting is rated at the moment.

He was selected as a wicket-keeper and has performed handily behind the stumps in his first full Test series, but glovemen have to at least be able to stick around with the lower order.

Gareth Batty
Saved by lifeguards after a swimming incident on the eve of the opening Test, Batty has performed creditably with the bat, finishing sixth in the averages.

He may view himself as an all-rounder but he was selected as a spinner, and on the friendliest surfaces in the world he took just six wickets - five of them in the opening match.

Ashley Giles
Desperately out of form throughout the summer, the veteran left-armer rebounded with a modified action to take 18 wickets in the series.

The purple patch lasted only as far as Colombo, though, as Sri Lanka realised his propensity to become despondent quickly when attacked.

James Kirtley
James Anderson's squash partner when the youngster injured his ankle, Kirtley profited with an invitation to stay in Sri Lanka for the rest of the Test series.

Pressed into action as the lone specialist seamer in Kandy he was accurate but not sufficiently menacing to be given so much responsibility, his lack of pace exposed.

That accuracy was not evident in the third match of the series, when he was taken for 131 runs in 31 overs.

Richard Johnson
When a side replaces its opening attack after a single Test something is wrong and Johnson, a late replacement for the injured Steve Harmison, bore half the blame.

Fifteen wickets in two Tests in Bangladesh became one - Kumar Sangakkara lbw for 71 - in two innings in Sri Lanka as a combination of illness and injury slowed him.

Matthew Hoggard
Another star in Bangladesh, Hoggard's figures of one wicket in a single Test at an average of 82.00 matched Johnson's exactly.

Enthusiastic and one-the-spot, he could not get enough life out of a dead Galle pitch to gain the reward.

James Anderson
The 21-year-old's fragile confidence will certainly not be boosted by a single Test match in which he showed the lingering effects of his ankle trouble.

He went wicketless in Colombo, his head dropping with every over, as his bowling was clocked 10mph slower than that of a year ago.