All is not lost if Nasser wins the toss in Kandy

After a gruelling Test in Galle, England will be disappointed that their undefeated streak has come to an end. Let's face it - Sri Lanka had the perfect Test match, both through their own hard work and skill and some other, divine or otherwise, intervention.

All the trials and tribulations the team would have talked about concerning touring in Sri Lanka came true.

Losing the toss was absolutely crucial on a pitch that was always going to break up as the game went on. Then they had to endure two days of being pulverised by the relentless sun and Sri Lankan batsmen. And finally England had to deal with some of the worst umpiring I have ever witnessed.

Of course, that is taking nothing away from a very competent performance by the home side. The solid batting in the first innings set up a great platform for the spinners to get to work, with some outstanding close fielding to back them up.

But I can not believe how the wheels came off out in the middle. Players are always trying harder to move their own game forward, so surely it is about time the umpires moved into the professional era as well. Human error aside, the reluctance to use the facilities available to them (third umpire) was beyond me.

The two umpires, Jaya Prakosh and Peter 'The Spaniel' Manuel, had only 17 matches between them, and with the game destined to be decided by spin in a possibly hostile match, two sets of more experienced eyes were needed.