“It’s a bit of a monkey on your back you’re very keen to get rid of if you haven’t scored a hundred for a while,” said Strauss, who hit an unbeaten 121.

“The last 15 runs or so were quite tortuous – I didn’t enjoy that at all.

“We want to make use of the conditions, hopefully bat long, get a big score and put the West Indies under pressure…”

“It was important for the side that we went on and got a decent score,” said Strauss, playing his 95th Test.

“It was important for myself; as captain you want to lead from the front – you want to set the example.

“You don’t want people to talk about how well you’re batting or otherwise.

“And that’s why it was a great feeling of relief and release to get that hundred…”

bbc.co.uk

The hosts moved 16 runs ahead of the tourists by stumps on Friday with Strauss unbeaten on 121, while Ian Bell was five not out.

Strauss raised his bat to celebrate the ton in the third session at Lord’s, ending a run of 25 innings without a triple-figure score, stretching back to November 2010.

The West Indies started the day at the crease but lasted just one delivery as Stuart Broad tempted Shannon Gabriel and the Test debutant edged to Graeme Swann. The visitors were all out for 243, with top scorer Shivnarine Chanderpaul stranded on 87 not out.

The early wicket saw Broad finish as England’s best bowler by some distance, with figures of 7-72 off 24.5 overs…

sportal.co.nz

SCORECARD

The Windies opener said it was disappointing to lose nine wickets on the opening day at Lord’s, but the visitors had fought gallantly while the sky remained overcast for most of the day and England’s bowlers, led by Stuart Broad, also exploited a helpful pitch.

“I think we played well [in the circumstances],” said Barath. “This is the first Test here [for many of us] and we played in heavy overcast conditions. England sent us in to bat and the pitch had something in it.

“Getting to 243 for nine with Shiv [Chanderpaul] still at the wicket was a good effort. We expect Shiv to get a hundred and give the total a boost. Then it’s important for us to bowl well and get among the wickets.”

Barath, playing a Test at Lord’s for the first time, defied the form book, batting through lunch to score 42 that offered West Indies a base.

“Playing at Lord’s is a special occasion,” he said. “I have thought long about how I wanted to play. We had discussions in our team meetings about their bowlers. Our coach [Ottis Gibson] was the England bowling coach at one time and this helped us a bit.

“For me, it’s building on this start that I got. Unfortunately, I did not carry on and get a bigger score. Hopefully, I will take it from strength to strength and carry on in the second innings and help West Indies win this game.”

Barath struck nine fours – mostly an array of rasping off-side drives – in an innings that lasted 101 balls, looking at ease in the conditions before he was caught at gully off Broad.

“In this series, we are looking to play the mental game,” he said. “Play with a lot of patience.

“We have to make up in our minds that we have to play and leave a lot of balls. We recognise that if we cannot do this, it will be very difficult. Shiv showed the kind of patience that’s required. He has a fantastic record in England, so that’s a bonus for our team.”

A typically resolute, unbeaten 87 from Chanderpaul propped up the batting, as the veteran left-hander again lived up to his status as the World No.1 Test batsman.

Barath hailed Chanderpaul’s contribution, as he anchored the Windies to 243 for nine in their first innings at the close.

“Shiv is very involved in our team meetings,” he said. “He’s someone who has scored over 10,000 Test runs, averaging close to 70 in England, and he has lent his expertise in team meetings. He has advised us about things like playing the ball later, picking the most effective areas to score, and having enough patience.”

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The obdurate left-hander, reprieved on 15 after reviewing an lbw decision, frustrated the hosts with his awkward crab-like stance and intense concentration to keep his team in the game after England had won the toss in favourable bowling conditions.

Stuart Broad completed superb figures of six for 72 and James Anderson claimed two early wickets but the two fast bowlers could not find a way through Chanderpaul’s masterful defence.

“Shiv’s played very well against us again today,” Broad told a news conference. “He plays it so late in the swinging conditions and he’s quite hard to draw into a false shot.

“To get nine wickets on the first day of a test you’ve got to be pleased. I didn’t start as well as I should have done but I was able to drag my length back and that was pleasing…”

odt.co.nz

Gayle bludgeoned 13 sixes and seven fours off only 62 balls and partnered in an unbroken double century stand with Virat Kohli (73) as Bangalore amassed 215-1. Delhi scored 194-9 in reply with Ross Taylor producing a valiant 26-ball 55.

Gayle scored only one run off the first nine deliveries he faced, but launched a relentless attack that saw him strike three consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Pawan Negi and also dispatch Irfan Pathan for three sixes in an over.

It was Gayle’s third IPL century and the second highest IPL score after Brendon McCullum’s 158 not out for Kolkata Knight Riders against Bangalore in the first match of the inaugural edition in 2008…

nzherald.co.nz

West Indies were suffering an all too familiar top-order struggle at 32 for two after England strike bowler James Anderson had removed Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards.

But opener Barath refused to be cowed and with Darren Bravo (27 not out) offering solid support in an unbroken stand of 51, the West Indies – who came into this match having won just two of their previous 30 Tests – got through the session without losing any more wickets against the world’s number one-ranked side.

England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to field, doubtless hoping his seamers would exploit the overcast conditions…

sport24.co.za

Again Narine was miserly and effective with his high-action, right arm off-spin, snaring four wickets for 15 runs in 3.1 overs at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, as the hosts, chasing 141 for victory, tumbled to 108 all out.

Mumbai were off to a fair started despite losing opener Herschelle Gibbs for 13. But the crucial moment in the chase was the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar for 27 in the 11th over, as the world’s leading international run-getter failed to pick up Narine’s off-break, that turned back into the Indian star, and cannoned into off-stump off the edge and then pad…

trinidadexpress.com