England 566/9: Windies 55/1:

Collingwood tonks a ‘ton’

Paul Collingwood became the second century-maker in the England first innings when he hit his eighth Test hundred against West Indies in the third Test here on Monday.

But West Indies made an unsteady start to reach 55 for one replying to England’s first innings total of 566 for eight declared when stumps were drawn on the second day at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

Collingwood made 113 and shared three half-century stands along the way that helped to beef-up the England total.

Kevin Pietersen scored 51, Stuart Broad made 44, Matt Prior got 39, and Graeme Swann was not out on 20. Jerome Taylor collected two wickets for 73 runs from 28 overs, Fidel Edwards snared two for 75 from 26 overs, and Ryan Hinds poached two for 86 from 22.2 overs.

England’s new-ball pair of James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff then found out what their opponents had learnt about the ARG pitch over the past two days.

Flintoff got a few balls to jump from a good length and startle Chris Gayle, but the West Indies captain and fellow left-handed opener Devon Smith had little about which to worry in between.

Steve Harmison replaced Anderson at the northern end for the eighth over of the innings and things started to happen.

His second delivery - a no-ball - Gayle blindly hooked over deep fine leg for a six way out of the small ground nestled in the Antigua & Barbuda capital. A few balls later, Harmison dug in short again, and Gayle swatted another no-ball, one bounce, into the mid-wicket boundary for the last of his five fours.

But next delivery, England and Harmison were celebrating, when Gayle - weight on the back-foot - was caught at mid-off driving loosely. Earlier, Collingwood helped England pile on the runs. He struck 14 boundaries from 202 balls in just over five hours before he was dismissed - caught inside the deep mid wicket boundary off Hinds - to prompt the declaration.

Collingwood added 94 with Pietersen for the fifth wicket, 62 with Prior for the seventh wicket, and the same amount with Broad for the eighth wicket, as England extended their innings to an hour and 20 minutes past tea. At lunch, England had reached 391 for four, after they suffered an early, but not totally surprising setback.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Tuesday (AFP)