 Vaughan and Pietersen look on as England fight to save the final Test |
Despite salvaging a draw in the rain-hit final Test, England drop from second to fifth in the world rankings, while Sri Lanka move to third spot.
"Throughout the whole series we have been beaten by a better team. Sri Lanka have been better in all the skills.
"The heavens have helped us get a draw but to be brutally honest it has saved us from a 2-0 defeat," said Vaughan.
Asked about the drop in the rankings, Vaughan said: "Those stats don't lie. We got to number two in the world because we beat most teams in the world.
"We're number five in the world because we lost to Australia and we've only got 20 wickets once in our last 14 Tests away from home."
Vaughan said his side would need to improve on their three-Test tour of New Zealand in March. The Kiwis are currently ranked seventh in the world.
"I can't fault the effort of the team but there are a few areas of expertise where we have to improve," Vaughan continued.
"We have to regroup and go to New Zealand and start winning some Test matches again. We have enough talent and I am sure we can put it right in 2008."
The skipper said he and coach Peter Moores had learnt a lot during their first away Test series together.
"It has been a real learning curve for me and Peter to assess where the team is at," he added.
"It has been hard to really balance the team when you are short of a good all-rounder or someone to be the fifth bowler.
"We were up for the challenge, we just could not get our game in order.
"We started well in Kandy in the first Test but I felt that's where the series was lost because we couldn't make the good start work for us.
"We had a good opportunity here when we won the toss here but we didn't get the ball in the right areas."
Moores felt his side's fielding had let them down.
"We dropped catches. It's hard work to get a wicket so you can't afford to miss chances," he said.
"We've lost some key fielders in key positions. We have to work hard to get new players in those positions."
But he also insisted the tourists learnt a huge amount from the tour.
"I think we've got masses out of it. If they use it wisely, they'll be better players for it," he added.
"We've seen how tough Test matches can be, especially when you play away from home in other people's backyards. It will toughen some of our players up a bit."
Final-day centurion Alastair Cook said England had to turn potential into results.
Cook, who has now made seven Test tons, said: "We can't say we are happy with what happened but we have to start winning rather than saying we are developing.
"As a Test side you can't lose three series in a row because you go down the rankings."
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