Giles leads the stonewall heroes

First Test: England end five days on the back foot clinging on to a desperate draw as darkness falls

Bad light, overnight rain, several favourable umpiring decisions and a bit of time- wasting all played their part in saving England from defeat here in Galle, but Michael Vaughan's side still had every right to look pleased with themselves at the conclusion of the First Test.

To leave the venue regarded as Sri Lanka's stronghold with a draw truly was an heroic achievement considering the positions England had found themselves in throughout the five days - and it was exactly what they deserved.

For 107 overs yesterday Vaughan's combative side somehow kept out Muttiah Muralitharan and his mates. And when the umpires, Daryl Harper and Srinivas Venkat, offered England's last two batsmen the light with a minimum of four overs still to be bowled, it was greeted like a victory in the dressing room.

Throughout an unbelievably tense afternoon rain looked imminent, and after every over during the mesmerising last hour the umpires kept checked their light meters. Amid all this, England's batsmen kept calling for new gloves as each team attempted everything they could to gain the result they craved. And it was just as well the light fell below the required level with 21 minutes of play remaining, because Matthew Hoggard was pitting his limited batting skills against Muralitharan's genius.

At the other end was the redoubtable Ashley Giles, who along with Mark Butcher, Paul Collingwood and Gareth Batty, played a huge part in a dramatic day. Travelling to Fortress Galle a week ago, Giles knew he would have an important role, and it is ironic that his batting will be remembered more than his career-best match bowling figures of 8 for 132.

As Giles walked to the middle when Collingwood was out with the score on 170 for 7, England looked like becoming the seventh side in nine Tests to lose to Sri Lanka here. But character is a trait this team do not appear to lack. England have often looked out on their feet during the last five days, but each time someone has dug in.

Though Butcher scored his second half-century in the game, the major credit should go to the middle and lower order. It is an area where Eng-land lack experience, and after losing Andrew Flintoff with fully 58 overs remaining, few would have given them any hope. Muralitharan was turning the ball prodigiously, and there were constantly four catchers loitering around the bat. England were fortunate to get away with a couple of adjacent-looking lbw appeals, but it was luck they deserved.

"I can't really explain what a huge result this is for us," said a relieved but weary Vaughan. "It was an amazing game. The dressing room was very tense at the end, with players pacing around the balcony and watching the skies. But the character we showed was tremendous.

"There are things we still need to work on - the last-wicket stands in each of their innings and our batsmen going on to post big scores - but to come out of Galle with a draw having lost the toss was a tremendous effort."

England could have lost their captain to the first delivery of the day when a short ball from Dinusha Fernando flashed past his glove and struck him on the shoulder. But Fernando did not have to wait long for his first Test wicket, claiming Vaughan's scalp in his next over.

Marcus Trescothick and Butcher looked to be positive against the new ball and England's 50 came up in the 12th over. It was Trescothick's aggressive intent which cost the left-hander his wicket when he danced down the pitch to Sanath Jayasuriya.

Criticism could be aimed at the Somerset opener and Graham Thorpe, who gave Muralitharan his first wicket of the day when he top-edged a slog-sweep. This would be harsh, though the timing of Thorpe's shot could be questioned. When he was out threatening clouds appeared to be making their way towards the ground, and rain would have led to a long delay, because an overnight downpour, which delayed the start of play by 30 minutes, had made the outfield sodden.

With one eye on the sky Butcher and Collingwood began the Herculean task of wearing down Sri Lanka's five spinners. Hashan Tillekeratne changed the bowling regularly but the pair grew in confidence and eventually forced the Sri Lankan captain to bring Chaminda Vaas back into the attack. Any Asian fast bowler with 200 Test wickets needs to be shown respect, and it was the change of pace that found the edge of Butcher's bat and gave the home side the breakthrough they desperately needed.

Flintoff quickly followed and this left Collingwood with England's two remaining recognised batsmen. "On debut, Paul did a tremendous job," said Vaughan. "Not so much in the runs he scored but for the time he took out of the game."

Whether his three-hour innings of 36 is enough to keep him in the team for the Second Test on Wednesday is debatable, because England will have a full squad to select from in Kandy. Nasser Hussain is sure to return - probably at the expense of Collingwood - and there is a strong case for playing James Anderson instead of either Hoggard or Richard Johnson.

Muralitharan's action has been scrutinised closely during this match but Clive Lloyd, the match referee, has no intention of reporting him. Lloyd said: "The umpires and myself do not think his bowling action has changed from when we have previously watched him. We will not be reporting him and if we did we would inform the players' board and the International Cricket Council before we made the news public."

Galle scoreboard

Sri Lanka won toss

Sri Lanka - First Innings 331 (K C Sangakkara 71; A F Giles 4-69)

England -First Innings 235 (M A Butcher 51; M Muralitharan 7-46)

Sri Lanka - Second Innings 226 (D P M Jayawardene 86*; A F Giles 4-63)

England - Second Innings (Overnight: 4-0)
M E Trescothick b Jayasuriya 24
M P Vaughan c Tillekeratne b Fernando 8
M A Butcher c Sangakkara b Vaas 54
G P Thorpe c Vaas b Muralitharan 10
P D Collingwood c Tillekeratne b Dharmasena 36
A Flintoff c Tillekeratne b Vaas 0
C M W Read c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 14
G J Batty b Muralitharan 26
A F Giles not out 17
R L Johnson b Muralitharan 3
M J Hoggard not out 0
Extras (b10, lb1, nb7) 18
Total (for 9, 108 overs, 376 min) 210

Fall: 1-16 (Vaughan), 2-62 (Trescothick), 3-73 (Thorpe), 4-125 (Butcher), 5-125 (Flintoff), 6-148 (Read), 7-170 (Collingwood), 8-204 (Batty), 9-208 (Johnson).

Bowling: Vaas 14-4-23-2 (nb2) (5-0-14-0, 6-3-5-2, 1-0-2-0, 2-1-2-0), Fernando 4-0-29-1 (nb4) (one spell), Samaraweera 3-1-9-0 (2-0-9-0, 1-1-0-0), Jayasuriya 21-5-31-1 (nb1) (1-0-1-0, 8-1-15-1, 5-1-7-0, 2-1-4-0, 2-0-2-0, 2-2-0-0, 1-0-2-0), Muralitharan 37-18-47-4 (10-4-14-1, 4-0-7-0, 5-2-10-0, 6-3-7-1, 2-0-5-0, 5-4-4-1, 2-2-0-0, 3-3-0-1), Chandana 11-2-24-0 (5-1-11-0, 3-0-9-0, 3-1-4-0), Dharmasena 18-8-36-1 (4-2-9-0, 11-3-27-1, 3-3-0-0).

Butcher 50: 151 min, 122 balls, 6 fours, 1 six.

Umpires: D J Harper (Australia) and S Venkataraghavan (India).

TV replay umpire: M G Silva (Sri Lanka). Match referee: C H Lloyd (West Indies).

Match drawn. Man of Match: M Muralitharan.