Vaughan struck his first century as captain and his 10th overall in Tests as the tourists followed the nail-biting draw at Galle last week with another defensive wall.

The Yorkshire opener spent seven and a half hours keeping Muttiah Muralitharan and co at bay as England blocked out 104 overs on the final day, having resumed on 89 for two.

Vaughan's contribution was crucial but there was still much work to be done when Murali gained an inside edge which flew off the pad to short leg with more than 90 minutes remaining.

But from a position of 239 for seven, Gareth Batty and Chris Read dug in amid numerous bowling changes and against the second new ball to guide their side to the close in dimming light.

Although the Sri Lankans managed to send down 19 overs in the final hour there were no further bat-pad chances to speak of and England snuffed the contest out at 285 for seven, having been set an improbable 368 for victory.

Batty, who faced 70 balls while helping save the first Test last weekend, finished unbeaten on 25 while Read took the majority of the strike to end on 18 not out.

England got off to a bad start, resuming on 89 for two and facing a minimum of 96 overs, when Hussain edged Chaminda Vaas to wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.

The remaining 37 overs before lunch were negotiated safely, however, as Graham Thorpe shared in a 77-run stand for the fourth wicket.

There were two major scrapes for the Surrey left-hander along the way as the Sri Lankans excitedly appealed for catches around the bat in consecutive overs from Sanath Jayasuriya.

The first, which looped to short leg from an attempted sweep appeared to miss the batsmen's gloves but the second was more contentious as a prod forward ended in silly-point's hands.

If Thorpe had been fortuitous on the second occasion, his luck ran out in the first over after lunch when Aleem Dar adjudged him to have been caught behind despite the ball going past the outside edge.

Tension increased thereafter with some extravagant shouts for catches and leg befores. Umpire Daryl Harper took action to warn Hashan Tillekeratne and Sangakkara about talking around the bat, pointing to the stump microphones to remind them of match referee Clive Lloyd's warning earlier in the match.

Paul Collingwood once again displayed his defiance but he succumbed to Kumar Dharmasena's arm ball, playing across it to edge to Mahela Jayawardene at slip.

Andrew Flintoff, who had managed just 17 in three innings so far this series, added only 19 more but crucially spent 11 precious overs getting them before becoming Muralitharan's third wicket of the innings and 18th of the series.

Vaughan soon followed when, after 333 deliveries, he offered his first genuine chance and Tillekeratne Dilshan claimed a diving catch, but Batty and Read held firm.

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