By Jonathan Agnew BBC cricket correspondent

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Agnew's Close of Play - BBC Radio Five Live

Test cricket is an extraordinary business and, after four and three quarter days of traditional and attritional play, the game suddenly exploded into life with the most dramatic finish.

When Atapattu and Tillekeratne were stubbornly blunting everything England could throw at them, it seemed that the Sri Lanka had successfully saved the match.

But, with eight overs remaining, Ashley Giles trapped Atapattu - who was batting with a finger injury - on the back foot and, next ball, Muralitharan prodded a catch to short leg.

Suddenly, Giles had claimed three wickets for no runs from ten balls, and England needed to score 50 from six overs.

Winning duo: Vaughan and Trescothick celebrate

Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan captain, has not had a good match.

His public decision to drop down the order destabilised his team and now his field placements gave Sri Lanka no chance of defending their meagre total.

He sent everyone, bar the wicketkeeper, to the boundary.

All England's openers had to do was push and run the singles and, with the help of inevitable boundaries, they were not the least bit pressed to reach their target, which they managed with six balls to spare.

How cricket needed this finish.

Desperately competing with the football World Cup, the authorities at Old Trafford even went to the trouble of erecting a giant screen in the car park for those in the crowd who were not sure which sport to watch.

What a shame, then, that the presentation ceremony was such a absolute shambles.

With a packed pavilion and a large radio audience gripped to the excitement of the occasion, it was a full half hour after the close of play that Nasser Hussain was asked to speak.

Giles ended Sri Lanka's innings in the nick of time

Too often, cricket finds a way of shooting itself in the foot at times when it is crying out for publicity.

England, though, deserve enormous credit for winning the series by a convincing two victories to nil.

They struggled at Lord's, where Sri Lanka - without Muralitharan - really should have embarrassed them.

But a revitalised team made the visitors pay for that with an outstanding performance at Edgbaston, and now the win at Old Trafford which was set up by their consecutive score of 500 or more.

Even more creditable is the fact that they were without Darren Gough throughout the series, and Andy Caddick for most of this match.

England's young bowlers were forced to stand up and take the responsibility themselves - and how well they responded.

Alex Tudor still has to convince me that he had the necessary stamina to play regularly at this level, but his match haul of seven for 109 was confirmation of his ability.

Roll on the one day series - English cricket needed this tremendous shot in the arm.