England scored just 88, their lowest total against Sri Lanka and the second lowest in their history. The home side romped home with 36.1 overs to spare.

"I said it was going to be tough before the series but we didn't expect it to be that tough," said Vaughan.

"There are no excuses and we can't blame anything we just played very poorly," he added.

"(Chaminda) Vaas proved he is very good in these conditions and we were never in the game after the first couple of overs.

"It will now be a big ask to bounce back from this in these conditions against a very experienced opposition it will be a true test of character."

Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu singled out newcomers Nuwan Kulasekera and Dinusha Fernando who did the early damage.

"They have been showing a lot of potential in the nets and we wanted to check them out in a game they came out beautifully," said Atapattu.

The second match is in Colombo on Friday.

Meanwhile, England strike bowler Steve Harmison has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka with a back injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.

The Durham paceman was sent home from Bangladesh last month after straining his back, missing the second Test.

"He bowled at the National Academy a week ago and he was sore for a few days afterwards," Peter Gregory, the ECB's chief medical officer, said in a statement.

"Then he returned for a fitness test on Monday and, when bowling his second spell in the nets, it was clear that he could not continue."

Somerset seamer Richard Johnson will replace Harmison in the squad for the three-Test series, with the first match due to start in Galle on December 2.

Harmison, 25, suffered the injury after his man-of-the-match performance in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka. He will continue his rehabilitation at the academy which is based at Loughbo-rough University.