Australia do the basics best

Although we have lost the series, mentally we are a lot stronger for having toured Australia. This has been the toughest cricket we have played for the last four or five years and we walked away with a good run-chase in the second Test and a lot of individual performances that will boost us in the coming series.

We went there knowing the going would be tough, and it was. Australia showed they were the top side in the world. They exert relentless pressure on the opposition with no let-up in the intensity. You could see that throughout the Test series. Our batting, on the other hand, was inconsistent all through. We batted well in patches, but we did not bat long enough, nor did we have long partnerships to put any kind of pressure back on the Australians.

Our bowlers, though, did extremely well, keeping to their strengths and bowling as well as they could. On the surface, it may look like they were disappointing, but they bowled extremely well right through the series. Farveez Maharoof was probably our best fast bowler, but he didn't enjoy great luck. Dilhara Fernando came back extremely well. Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas bowled well too. But the lesson we can take is that cricket is a game of patience, and while bowling against these batsmen, you need to bowl in partnerships, building up the pressure ball by ball. You need to make sure the strike doesn't rotate, bowl with a plan, and have the patience to stick to the plan. We have the quality in our pace attack, but we need the ability to persist.

I am not sure whether Vaasy pulled out with an injury or was dropped for the second Test, but sometimes hard decisions need to be made. We want to be in a situation where even the great players are competing for a place in the side. At certain times certain sacrifices are made, and the players understand that.

The wickets didn't offer extravagant turn or massive bounce to Muttiah Muralitharan. Nonetheless, he bowled really well throughout the series. If we had been a bit more penetrative with the new ball, Murali would have been a lot more effective - he would have been able to bowl at the middle and lower order, rather than marathon spells at the openers.

The Australians are high-quality players, but they also do the basics really well, better than any other side. Not all teams have two bowlers who can bowl at more than 140kph consistently, and then a third seamer who bowls with immaculate control. They come really hard at you, but if they don't get early wickets, they make sure they frustrate the batsmen by making scoring very hard. And all the while, as a batsman you know you are going to get that one good ball any time. The same goes for their batsmen: they never give the bowlers a sniff.

It would have been nice, though, to have a few more practice games. That allows the batsmen to get into form and get accustomed to playing on those tracks, against quality attacks - even their state sides' attacks are extremely strong. There is also a case for a longer series, because that makes the contest more even.

It was not fun to sit out of the first match. But during those two weeks I was completely off. I had been playing cricket continuously for an extended period and the break gave my mind and body a bit of time to recover. I did a lot of work in the nets and with the bowling machine. I enjoyed that preparation going into my one Test.

I must admit I was a bit scratchy in the first innings. But I enjoyed being out there, facing the challenge they presented. It was special for me to get a big hundred, but my favourite part of the innings was the period of play on the fourth day when Brett Lee bowled a magnificent spell to Marvan Atapattu and me. That was one of the toughest periods of bowling I have faced in a Test match. The effort Lee put in was magnificent; it was the kind of period that defines a Test. It was tough, and although I didn't get many runs, I enjoyed it.

I was disappointed with the way I got out, but I am sure it was even more disappointing for the umpire. We have a very professional bunch of umpires, and Rudi Koertzen is one of the best. You have to look at umpiring just like you do your batting: you make mistakes, but you get on with it. Once you have confidence in the umpire and the umpire in you, it's easy to move on.

I had a drink with Rudi that evening. It was very nice of him to come and have that chat. For players and officials to have such a rapport and to say, "Listen, everything's cleared up, there's no hard feelings" is great. It was great to reassure each other that we had absolute confidence in each other's ability to play and officiate. Once you have that rapport, mistakes from either party can be easily understood.

Although we lost, there are positives that we can take from the tour. The hundred Mahela Jayawardene scored in Hobart was special. Michael Vandort and Chamara Silva showed tremendous attitude. But the shining light was Marvan at the top of the order. He was a huge inspiration to the side. There was a lot of controversy around him, but he managed to come into the side, keep his place, and do a fantastic opener's job. It was a pity he didn't go on to end his career with a century. I have always considered myself fortunate to be a part of the same team as Marvan. In him, we have lost one of the best players Sri Lanka ever produced and Sri Lankan cricket will be poorer for it.