Andrew Strauss Continues To Lead England's Charge

Andrew Strauss scored his 17th Test century, passing three figures for the third time in the series as England closed a turgid opening day of the fifth and final Test against the West Indies on 258 for two.

Facing defensive fields for much of the day on a slow pitch, Strauss, the first Englishman to score a century at the Queen's Park Oval since 1974, was unbeaten on 139 and he was given excellent support in the final session by Paul Collingwood, who scored his 13th Test half-century, sharing a century stand with his skipper. The pair batted through the final session of the day, Collingwood unbeaten on 54.

The West Indies appear to have already given up thoughts of winning the match, giving largely non-threatening medium pacer Brendan Nash the lion's share of the bowling between lunch and tea. However, most of their fielding and some of their bowling was abject at best, only a sharp spell of reverse swing late in the day from Fidel Edwards and a short burst from the opening bowlers seriously discomforting the batsmen.