England 11-5 to bounce back after fourth Test defeat on the trot

JONATHAN TROTT'S century was not enough to reward England's late batting surge as Sri Lanka claimed a 75-run victory in the first Test in Galle but the visitors are 11-5 to bounce back by winning next week's second Test.

The 340 England were attempting to chase down represented a deficit that the tourists had never overcome in Test cricket before, with their previous chasing record standing at 332, and yet Graeme Swann had talked up the chance of the England batsman completing the turnaround.

A promising start gave England a great chance on the fourth day and as therun deficit tumbled so did the odds for a dramatic win. As Trott and Matt Prior oozed confidence so did the punters and England touched odds of 1-2 with Ladbrokes.

But in a somewhat inevitable fashion the comeback was off no sooner than it had begun. When cool heads were needed England faltered as they lost two wickets in quick succession, putting Sri Lanka firmly back in the driving seat.

Sri Lankan debutant Samit Patel then ended all hopes of a revival as he finally put a halt to the defiant Trott and with Swann, Anderson and Panesar providing little resistance it was the Sri Lankans that ended the game victorious, leaving England with a collapse of 6-31.

Sri Lanka are 2-5 to win the serie, with a draw (6-4) seen as the most likely outcome in the second Test.