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Sri Lanka win series

Australia captain Steve Waugh today called for better performances after the third and final Test finished in a rain-hit draw to give Sri Lanka their first series victory over Australia in four encounters.

''We learned some lessons over here. We have got to play consistently and improve our cricket,'' Waugh said after the 1-0 series defeat.

He said the outcome is a wake-up call for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, starting in Harare on October 14.

No play was possible on the last day as overnight rain and morning showers forced the umpires to call off the game at lunch.

In fact, most of the match was washed out, ending Australia's hopes of dismissing Sri Lanka twice. They had the hosts reeling on 61 for four in reply to 342.

Sri Lanka won the first Test in Kandy by six wickets, finally ending an unbeaten Australian sequence of seven wins and three draws.

In that encounter, Waugh broke his nose and pace bowler Jason Gillespie his leg after colliding in a freak fielding accident.

The second Test in Galle was also disrupted by bad weather and drawn.

Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya said his team had gained the confidence to overcome Australia after beating them in the preceding triangular one-day tournment that also involved India.

"If we should consider the weather, then we would have won in Galle, but here the Australians were on top. In any event we would have won the series,'' he said.

Australia's last Test series defeat was against India in 1998. They lost 2-1.

Ricky Ponting took the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards. He struck an unbeaten 105 in Australia's first innings.

UNI