By Scott Heinrich BBC Sport Online

When Sri Lanka arrived in England early summer, they did so with the reputation as a team on the verge of something special.

As if nine Test wins on the bounce wasn't special enough.

Stretching from August 2001 to March 2002 Sri Lanka were in a vein of form bettered only by Australia in recent times.

But detractors pointed to the inescapable fact that all nine Tests were at home and that Sri Lanka's rise to prominence could not be taken on face value.

Dilhara's form away from home is not appealing

A draw at Lord's in the first Test - highlighted by centuries to Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene and an England follow-on - showed that Sri Lanka had perhaps matured.

But, following the subsequent series defeat and their latest effort, the debacle against South Africa, the spotlight of suspicion is back on them.

Since their 1996 World Cup win, Sri Lanka have lost just seven of 36 Tests played at home, winning an impressive 20.

But on holiday they have lost 12 of 26 matches, winning a meagre five.

No team is expected to play as well on the road as they do on home soil, and it is true that Sri Lanka's away record is better than neighbours' India.

But, like India, the things that make them so irresistible on their own patch - class spinners, delicate strokeplay - are the same things holding them back abroad.

Jayawardene struggled at the Wanderers

Equally, what they can make do without at home - a quality pace attack - they miss badly on their travels.

Wickets on the subcontinent are like no other on the globe, hence it is of little surprise that their best bowlers are spinners and their batsmen are wrist-happy.

At the Wanderers Sri Lanka were exposed for their lack of a genuine pace bowler to back up Chaminda Vaas, not to mention the burdened Muttiah Muralitharan.

It may prove in time that rookie Hasantha Fernando is the answer to that dilemma, but of greater significance were the woes of Dilhara Fernando and Ruchira Perera.

Their indiscipline and waywardness aside, neither were penetrating enough on a helpful deck to worry South Africa's batsmen.

Had the match taken place in Colombo, one or both would have been lucky to play.

De Silva enjoyed a good tour of England

The unevenness of the Wanderers pitch would have been enough to trouble most batsmen, but for Sri Lanka it was their worst nightmare.

An unsatisfactory first-innings offering of 192 (after winning the toss) was followed by 130 in the second, a dig that spanned just 41 overs.

So assertive at home, talents like Kumer Sangakkara and Russel Arnold found themselves unable to cope with variable bounce and the swinging ball.

Perhaps experience is the key, for batsmen like Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya have shown that foreign tracks can be played with success.

For now, though, Sri Lanka find themselves back to square one.

They will look to make amends at Centurion, but the likelihood is that Jayauriya's men will be happy to return home after yet another failed international sojourn.