England's dismal run of one-day defeats must be causing real concern to the selectors and management.
 | It is obvious the Sri Lankan players have great respect for Jayawardene's leadership |
They have won only five of the 16 matches they have played since the nail-biting tie in the NatWest Final against Australia last summer.
And it is difficult to find many positives from the latest loss to Sri Lanka.
They sent down a staggering 23 wides in an England record total of 42 extras and it was not a case of a white ball swinging uncontrollably, but of ill-directed, poorly controlled bowling.
Steve Harmison was the chief culprit with nine wides, while Liam Plunkett and Tim Bresnan delivered six and five respectively.
The ground fielding, meanwhile, was lethargic, compared to Sri Lanka's keen and energetic effort, and they never really got going with the bat.
The dismissal of Kevin Pietersen for 10 really sealed England's fate, and it came from an outstanding catch at mid-wicket by Mahela Jayawardene.
Leaping high to his right, it was another example of Jayawardene's wonderful contribution to this tour and it surely would be a foolish move by the selectors to return the captaincy to Marvan Atapattu when he is fit to return to action.
It is obvious the Sri Lankan players have great respect for Jayawardene's leadership and they respond positively to his animated encouragement.
When Sri Lanka were 153-2 in the 28th over, they seemed well on course for a total of 300 or more, but lost their way in the middle of their innings, largely due to another tidy bowling performance by Paul Collingwood.
 Dalrymple was unable to contain Sri Lanka with the ball |
His contributions are vital at the moment as James Dalrymple is not yet capable of bowling his full allocation of 10 overs.
Sri Lanka added only 92 in their last 20, losing 6 wickets in the process, but this was due more to Upul Tharanga retiring unexpectedly into his shell, rather than anything heroic that England had to offer.
England's order currently appears to contain just two quality batsmen - Pietersen and Marcus Trescothick - and despite a high-scoring week, Trescothick's timing deserted him on this occasion.
He struggled to 67, but when he was bowled by Dilshan, Sri Lanka knew they had the game all but sewn up.
Dalrymple made the most of his opportunity, and looked a well organised player for his 67, albeit one who is batting one and possibly two places too high at the moment.
Tim Bresnan also showed some promise but if they are not careful, England will soon be choosing too many players who bat a bit and bowl a bit, when their stated aim is to select proven cricketers.
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