Muralitharan closing in on Warne mark

Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan moved to within two of equalling fellow spinner Shane Warne's world record of 708 Test wickets after picking up a pair of England victims on the second morning at Asgiriya.

Overnight duo Ian Bell and Michael Vaughan were both dismissed as England progressed to 145 for three by lunch, a deficit of just 43 runs.

Vaughan struck 37 but was adjudged to have been caught at silly mid-off in the 18th over of the day, a contentious decision which clearly upset the batsman.

A ball from around the wicket defeated an attempted turn to leg and popped into the hands of Chamara Silva, which left Vaughan looking on in disbelief as umpire Aleem Dar raised his finger.

Vaughan's second-wicket partner Ian Bell hit England's first half-century of the three-match Test series but once again failed to turn it into three figures.

It was the ninth time Bell had passed 50 overseas but only once has he celebrated a hundred.

He appeared well set to alter the ratio with a combination of classical strokes and canny guides into gaps but perished in attacking mode against Murali.

On only one other occasion in his 83 had Bell been tempted into a false stroke, when he charged Murali and found the midwicket boundary via a thick inside edge.

Another act of aggression brought his downfall, however, as he picked out Chamara Silva, who clung on diving to his left at short midwicket.

Earlier, Bell drove the first delivery of the day from Dilhara Fernando straight down the ground for four, one of seven boundaries in reaching 50 off 57 balls.