Send your tributes to a fantastic Test display.

For most of the final day, it seemed certain that Sri Lanka would bat out the day to claim a draw.

However, the game took a dramatic turn at tea with the second new ball as Hussain's men successfully chased a target of 50 runs to win off six overs to claim a 2-0 series.

It is only the second time since 1985 that England have won a Test series by a two-match margin.

Will it continue to be a summer of success for England?

Sour grapes by Ravindra Perera can not hide the fact that Sri Lanka were thoroughly outplayed. Not by the weather, of the media or any other excuse he wishes to put forward but by sheer will and better resources.

The fact is this series proves the Lankans are toothless without a wicket-taking Muralitharan - and the English conceived and executed a plan which worked to their advantage - so all credit to the Nasser, Duncan and the rest of the boys.
Mukky, London, UK

Just like in every other sport that England plays, one win and suddenly they are world champions. Good result, but please put it into context!
Gary, England

Let's keep our feet on the ground. When England win one match at anything suddenly they're the best side in the world, and then someone brings up 1966. Then after the next match - egg has to go on a face, the media disowns the team, the rest of the world laughs and the poor players end up with all the criticism.

I like the set up of this England side, but someone needs to shut the media bandwagon up, they're talking about the Ashes already, yes I'd love England to win, but to do that they need application, dedication, consistency and a little luck to beat the Australians at home. From here on in give them real support, regardless of any hiccups in the meaningless ODIs or against another class act, India.
Monty, Ireland

Congrats in your well-earned victory over Sri Lanka this past week. I have been following the series with keen interest, and have been really impressed by England's new look fighting unit. Good job and all the best for the Nat West games and of course, the eagerly awaited Test series against Ganguly & co.
James Alter, India

A great finish to a great series. Taking out a team that's proven itself to be a formidable Test nation in such a manner; endurance being more than decisive demolition, but it's great to see England displaying the mental toughness which reflects the talent within the team. And without our main strike bowlers to boot.
Riff, England

I was listening on the way home and when Giles got the last two wickets I rang all my friends to tell them to get the television on. I got home for the last three balls. Well done, everyone!
Steven Larcombe, England

Even though I am an Indian and West-Indian supporter, I must give the English team a big pat on the back for an excellent display of cricket, over the last month against a Sri Lankan outfit. Good captaincy together with some remarkable performances by various members of the team was enough to undo Sri Lanka. Well done and here's hoping for another exiting series against the Indians.
Shekhar, Trinidad

Brilliant victory. We were all leaping up and down and cheering. I think the neighbours thought they were missing a football match.
The Triffitt Family, England

Kudos to the English side! A well deserved victory! This side is starting to believe in itself and looks like a team instead of a bunch of individuals. Trescothick is proving to be the epitome of consistency. Keep it up guys.
Nitesh, USA

Congratulations to the team for an excellent series. I have one minor criticism. It would have been more gentlemanly and in the best traditions of the game for the England team to have come out to clap the Sri Lankans off the field.
Hugh Cownie, UK

What a fantastic end to an excellent test! Brilliant individual performances, but what a superb team effort too, battling right to the end. Congratulations to all involved for an inspiring start to the summer - we love you all (and thanks to the BBC as well for your web coverage, allowing those of us who had to be at work to follow the match!)
Liz, Sheffield, England

Congratulations to England. A fantastic finale to the Sri Lankan series, which even took preference over Coronation Street for my wife. No mean feat.
Mark P, UK

Who cares about ODI's? Test match cricket is the real bread and butter, where the men are separated from the boys. Nasser's men stood up well and administered a strict lesson to the Sri Lankans about the intricacies of test match cricket. Spirit, mental resolve and intensity were all on display during this series, even allowing for the pop-gun bowling attack of Sri Lanka.
Andy, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK

A sensational win by a complete team. It has been a long time coming but I now feel that the English cricket team are bonding into a great unit. There was support for each other as well as some great individual performances. To win a match that has been so badly affected by poor light and rain on such a flat wicket can only mean that we are moving forward.
Barry Miller, England

Firstly by the media, by dragging the "old story" about "chucking" and "unorthodox" bowling actions, secondly by making a big issue out of whether Sri Lanka could win a match without Murali and whether he is fit enough to play. Then the story continues Perera and his action.

Secondly the ground selection and the awful weather that the Sri Lankan team has to accept can not be better than this. I think "Central Park" would have been a better option than the ones selected. I never knew before that cricket is "all weather" game, otherwise no body in their right mind would select this period of the year to start a test series. I think Rugby would have been a better option! Maybe Sri Lanka team should invite England to tour Sri Lanka in the middle of monsoon season! I think England would certainly enjoy that.

All this managed to get a series win for the "England team". So it is no wonder why the "England" record outside the country is so poor, because then they do not have the collective effort of all these parties which makes the "England Team".
Ravindra Perera, Sri Lanka

As an Englishman Living here in the land of Oz, I sat up into the early hours of the morning to watch a new era of English cricket take place. Well done to Nasser and his team...come down under now and reclaim what is yours for the taking...the ashes.
Gwynne, Australia

We used to have the old fox in Sri Lanka called Arjuna Ranatunga. I guess we have one now in England called Hussain. Clever captaincy. Congratulation Nassar and co. Oh I forgot to mention this. The Sri Lankan newspapers claim that Andrew Flintoff is a chucker. Can Dermot Reeve take his camera out please.
Patrick Ratnaraja, UK

Thanks Nasser and all the playing and non-playing staff; let's hope that the team can get into the winning habit. I feel that some praise is also due for the umpires - in these days of technological nit-picking they too had a good Test. Having worked abroad for a year with zero access to any cricket coverage I feel spoilt!
Gavo Matic, England

I'm really pleased for the lads after their superb performance. As a long suffering cricket fan who has stuck by England, it's good to see more consistent performances. I only hope they can carry this form on and bring back the Ashes!
Nigel, London

For once the England team look like a team. The top order are starting to gel, and proving very difficult to get out. The bowlers are improving all the time and if we carry on improving in the same manner, an excellent side will be produced.

Well done England, keep up the good form and if you continue playing like that you will be the best in the world!
Rob, England

Well done to England on managing to pull together a win. Despite Hussain's apparent best efforts to scupper England's chances in what should have been a relatively easy win, England's heroic efforts pulled us through.

When are we going to see a change of England Captain? Surely someone with good captaincy skills and common sense would be a start! Cricket is one game, chess is quite another. Maybe someone should remind Hussain of this.
Ema Melanaphy, England

What a fantastic and brilliant all round effort. The Aussies will have to watch out; this is the best stuff we've played for ages. We are getting runs and wickets, and we are enjoying it more.
Daniel Bishop, England

Absolutely Awesome. Butcher and Tresco are in excellent form Tudor is beginning to emerge, and we have the experience of Stewart, Giles, Hussain and Thorpe. England are really starting to prove something in world cricket! Bring on the Aussies!
Pete, England

The highlight of the game was Hussain taking the catch at leg slip to remove De Silva. He's an inspiration to the team - long may it continue.
Barry, UK

Very much a game of heroes and zeros. Thankfully the heroes were all in the England side, with the exception of Russell Arnold, who is a very good cricketer. It's good to see that England have worked out Murali, who throughout the two games really didn't throw down any demons.

It was a fantastic win and great entertainment, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Sri Lanka were poor - and that's being kind!
Wattsy, UK

At last we have seen a performance from England that was directed to winning, as opposed to drawing. However, we need to do this kind of thing against the really big boys before exulting too much over this sound display.

Sri Lanka's attack is one of the weaker attacks in Test cricket. Their opening seamers are lightweights compared to McGrath/Gillespie and Pollock/Kallis, for example. However, credit where it is due. Have we finally found a reliable and, at times, brilliant, opening pair after all these years?
Roche John, Belgium

A fantastic all-round performance! I my opinion, the major difference between the two sides all through the series has been the ability and attitude of the two captains. Hussain has been on the front foot in every game.

Even when England have been struggling, he has kept making changes and trying different ideas. His field placing and bowling changes in the last two days made all the difference. Jayasuria has lacked imagination and the courage of his convictions, and Sri Lanka never seemed to have a plan.

But well done to the whole England team. Now it is important to carry this through the summer and on to Australia.
Andy P, Guildford, England

It's down to team spirit. Credit to Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain for bringing patience, purpose and focus to Team England.
Griswold, UK

Well played England! A wonderful display of team work. Nasser was very lucky to win the toss twice, and let's not forget the results would have been quite different if Sanath had won the toss. Probably the best Test match I've seen in recent times.
Gane, Sri Lanka

So far in the last three days, there have been two matches that have galvanised my attention - England thrashing Denmark 3-0 in the World Cup - and - England thrashing Sri Lanka at Old Trafford to win the Test series 2-0. The Test victories really bear out what Hussain said -namely that the best way to draw attention to the cricket squad was to win matches!
Stuart Lord, UK

It was a fantastic Test match from start to finish. England bowled extremely well and deserve a lot of credit especially Flintoff, Hoggard and Tudor.

Surely though Lancashire and Peter Marron should take some credit, yet another exciting Test match at Old Trafford (following Pakistan last year) and it was good to see a pitch that had everything and a Test match that lasted five days. Surely the ECB cannot contemplate taking Test matches from this great venue.
James Wilkinson, Lancashire, England

What a sad way to end a nine match winning streak. No matter though as the majority of the Sri-Lankan fans care little for Test matches. Derek Pringle suggests that Sri Lanka flatter to deceive. He would be wise to hold his judgement a while longer. Sri Lanka's real forte is the ODI game and England, in the past have proven to be a second rate ODI force.
Sanjeev, Canada

Congratulations to the team! There's a lot of talk about Nasser being the best England captain since Brearley - I would say that he is quite possibly the best there's been, certainly in my time watching cricket - roll on the next series.
Nick, UK

What a great English battling performance. They should send the video of the highlights out to the football team to show that with the right determination and will to win, you can get results. Full credit to the likes of Alex Tudor and Ashley Giles for getting vital wickets at the right time, and giving Vaughan and Trescothick the chance of a finish.

You have to wonder about the tactics of Sri Lanka though: the field placement invited singles and the belief to win. Seeing Trescothick hit Muralitharan for six though was the shot of the game - a shot rightly greeted by players and fans with the credit it deserved.

I just hope we can keep this up, but well done the lads. I am sure many people were on the edge of their seats seeing those magical final overs.
Warren Pilkington, England

Congratulations to England for their well deserved victory. They certainly outplayed Sri Lanka in the last two Tests at home. Sri Lanka should be encouraged that they did relatively well in alien cold weather conditions considering that they lack two good fast bowlers and they could have saved the last Test if not for Marvan's injury and two wrong LBW decisions.
Rishi Haran, USA

When the going gets tough, the tough get going! What a masterful performance. What a stunning and authoritative conclusion. I nearly had a heart attack during the final few overs - but it was worth it. Many warm congratulations to "Hussein's men".
Chris B, England

Well what a summer of sport we are having thus far!! It seems that all of the different sports are feeding off each other. They may even be motivating each other!! Would the England cricket team be as positive had the football team not done so well in the World Cup?

Maybe England winning at Old Trafford will signal an explosion of success, with Tim winning Wimbledon, Becks and co winning the World Cup and team GB coming out of Manchester with a clutch of gold medals.

We can only dream...
Antony Calvert, England

England have demonstrated a true professionalism and a great team effort all through this series. They need to maintain the same approach in one day matches also in order to emerge as a truly challenging side in the forthcoming World Cup.
Anwar Abbas, Canada

Nothing much to add to the comments coming in from all over the globe but what a sizzler! Well done everyone - a sensational win which sent shivers down my spine.
Margaret Terry, UK

Another example of glorious uncertainties of cricket. All kudos to the English team for their never say die spirit. This victory will go a long way to boost their confidence when they play the formidable batting line up and all the "Murlitharans" of India in the forthcoming series.
Lokesh Pillai, USA

This is a great win for England .Congratulations to Nasser and all the lads for a magnificent all round performance.
M. Hassan-King, The Gambia

All credit to Nasser & the management team for getting the best out our players. Whilst everyone's being wearing the England replica tops, I've been walking around proudly wearing my cricket top!!
Asad Siddiqi, Slough, England

If anyone tells you that cricket is a boring game, just point them to the highlights of this match. This was a fantastic all round performance by the England team, the bowlers deserve special mention for putting their hands up after Caddick's injury.

A few years ago, England would have settled for a dull draw after being one ahead in the series, now they have the belief and the heart to go for the win. This is why Australia are so successful, and bodes well for the ashes this winter.
Peter, England

A truly masterful display by the English team of first class cricket. The momentum of such a masterful win will be a true inspiration not only to the English football team over in Japan, but for all other English sporting persons competing at a world class level. What a brilliant jubilee summer so far (and it's only just begun).
Steve G, UK Tyne & Wear

A superb, sustained all-round performance - proving that five-day Test cricket is still the most enthralling form of the game. What a pity that the infantile pyjama nonsense intervenes before the real business of the Indian series!
William, Ireland

Amazing! This England team seems to be developing the killer instinct that it lacked. No only did they go for the kill when they saw the chance, but the chased a stiff target off very few overs and reached it easily. They have sterner tasks ahead, but this series will have boosted their moral a great deal.
Mark Kidger, Tenerife/U.K.

England showed that they were a bunch of professional players, committed and focussed at the cause that they were after. As for Sri Lanka, They have too many internal squabbles going on. The players are not very committed. No one is held accountable, which is a sad story for a talented side.
Gihan Fernando, USA

Congratulations on a job well done! Sri Lanka are a good team who were put out to grass by an England team who appear to be back on the up. They must be aware of the Indians this summer though as the Indian team look like they can cause an upset by winning a Test or two here. Hussain needs to keep his team in focus to make sure that England can dominate once more.
Arun, England

England need a better bowling performance to win against India.
Parvez Mohaimen, Canada

England well definitely struggle in the one-day arena, they just don't have the fire power.
Yawar, US

Congratulations must go to the England bowlers for a fantastic display. After Caddick was injured they had four bowlers bowing for two days, and they managed to get Sri Lanka out twice - fantastic!

Congratulations must also go to Trescothick and Vaughan for a wonderful batting display when the odds must have been against them - although the Sri Lankan field did help them. Why on earth did they not have two men saving one on both sides when England needed a run a ball?
Duncan Darroch-Thompson, England

This is the only way to play Test match cricket, never give up till the last ball is bowled. Nasser and the boys did us proud. We mustn't get too carried away, but looking forward to playing India; we must have a good chance of winning that series too. Hope Tudor remains part of the setup.
David, England

Fantastic display by England to keep battling to the last minute to secure the win! Let's hope our boys in the Far East can do the business too!
Rav, USA (ex-pat)

What a fantastic result for England! To gain victory when a draw seemed certain says something for the never say die attitude that has been missing from the England team since the 1980's. That Test took me back to the days when England had bowlers that could bowl, and batsmen who could bat. Bring on Australia this winter!
Alex, England

What a great performance! Tudor impressed a lot. Now for the one day series. A lot of people seem to think that Stewart should be the automatic choice for the wicketkeeper. Maybe he is, but, I would take a chance with young Ambrose of Sussex. I realize, the lad is only 19, but, I reckon we've got one heck of a talent in him. Maybe, both Stewie and Ambrose should be picked.
Mike, UK