11.47am

Cook hits his secondary boundary of the morning with a rather rigid cover drive- they're all four in the book Cooky.

Even though they've made the early break through, West Indies look pretty flat in the field and Cook helps himself to four more, whipping with rare flair through mid-wicket, the less said about the Lionel Baker's dispairing dive, the better.

42-1

11.42am

Cook digs a classic Edwards yorker to square leg for a single. After watching several balls go harmlessly through to the keeper-albeit using a bizarre trigger movement, Bopara plays a serious whip through the leg side for a lovely boundary shot boy

34-1

11.37am

Oh no. The skipper goes, playing a loose stroke outside the off stump. He gets an audible edge which just about carries to Ramdin on this low pitch and England lose their first wicket.

Bopara bops confidently to the crease and his first ball swings past the bat and beats him all ends up! Looking at the replay, Strauss's reaction is one of 'Oh dear, I've missed out on ANOTHER hundred against the West Indies.'

11.29am

"Yes, no, wait, sorry, oh no!". Confusion all over the place as the batsmen nearly collide and the fielders nearly crash into each other, but Cook is safely through for the single.

Edwards bangs one in very short and Cook swivels and pulls it emphatically for four.

More hesitancy. Alistair, the calls are 'yes', 'no' and 'wait'. Use only one at a time please- you would not want to run the skipper out.

Defensive shot and a loud shout of 'NO' from Strauss followed by a very wry grin.

26-0

11.25am

Shot Straussy! The England skipper punches one down the ground for a lovely boundary before punishing Taylor for giving him too much width by lashing him though the covers off the back foot.

Taylor changes the angle for the last ball of the angle, coming round the wicket. But Strauss, who is looking in good touch, steals another single.

20-0

11.19am

Cook tucks one nicely through mid-wicket and then has a little prod at one outside off.

Nice buzz from the Lords crowd, though not too much to get excited about yet.

Solid start from England.

11-0

11.14am

Asoka da Silva gets in the game early with a shout of 'NO BALL' as Tayor oversteps.

Cook gets in a couple of crab like defensive strokes, but otherwise it is a fairly quiet over. Nick Knight feels the need to tell us about the technical and mental failings of his career- to be honest David Lloyd is doing well to stay awake.

9-0

11.08am

Fidel Edwards, whippy little fella that he is, has no mid-on fielder either and Strauss punches him through the vacant area for three more. Cook turns his first delivery to square leg and sets off for a quick single to get off the mark. Some swing here for Fidel...

7-0

11.03am

Strauss is away, clipping Jerome Taylor through mid-on for three after watchfully letting the first four balls go by and defending the fifth.

3-0.

10.57am

The players are on their way out and the International summer will be underway in the next few minutes...

Strauss and Cook make their way to the middle in short sleeve shirts, the West Indians on the other hand are all in their sweaters.

England vs West Indies 1st Test, Lords

Hello and welcome to Lords for the 1st NPower Test between England and the West Indies.

West Indies have won the toss and inserted England on a pitch which is more than tinged with green. With the conditions overcast, the first hour could be crucial.

England hand debuts to Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan, while Ravi Bopara bats at three.

12th over

Cook wakes from his scoring slumber and slams a square cut to the cover-point fence. Am I jumping the gun in saying that England must have their sights set on a hefty first innings total? As it is panning out, England will be pretty happy with losing the toss and being asked to bat.
44-0

11th Over

Chris Gayle brings himself on for a bit of trundle. In typically casual fashion he slings a couple of balls down the leg-side, but when he drops short outside off stump Strauss pierces the gap in the covers and brings up his 6th boundary of the morning.
40-0

10th Over

Cook loves a dot ball. He plays out another maiden, looking pretty confident in the process. My colleague Neil is already excited about watching Owais Shah, he has posters of the Middlesex man all over his wall and even keeps a picture of Shah in his wallet- I think he’s a good player, but that’s going a bit far Neil!
36-0

9th Over

Strauss pushes nicely down the ground for a pressure-relieving boundary, before slapping a full toss to the mid-wicket boundary. The outfield is quick, the boundaries are short and the pitch appears to be pretty conducive to stroke play…Chris Gayle looks about as worried as a man with dreadlocks and sunglasses can do.
36-0

8th Over

Has the England captain has a slice of luck there? He tries to duck a Darren Powell bouncer but cannot get out of the way in time and the ball balloons to third slip. There is a huge appeal and Powell stands dramatically only yards from Strauss, but, crucially Rudi Kurtzen remains unmoved.
My colleague Dan, who is in the office with me, immediately shouts ‘glove, that was off the glove, and you know what, he is probably right, replays suggest that the ball probably brushed the glove before striking Strauss’s shoulder.
27-0

7th Over

Maiden over from Taylor. Cook shows both patience and concentration in defending and leaving well.

27-0

6th Over

Darren Powell is into the act early, replacing Fiddy at the Pavilion End. Powell is greeted by an Andrew Strauss square-cut that races to the short boundary, square of the wicket on the off-side. A couple of singles from the rest of the over consolidate England’s good start and already the pitch is starting to look quite flat.
27-0

5th Over

Nick from Bournemouth has some scathing words about Cook and...Me!

"Cook looks like you...scared of fast bowling"

Thanks Nick. Ally Cook shows that he is no scaredy cat by rocking back and pulling Taylor through the leg-side for an impresive boundary. So far so good for England.

19-0

4th Over

Now it’s ‘Fiddy’s’ turn to fire it up! He starts to encroach on the 90mph mark, mind he also gets too close to Cook’s pads and the Essex opener tucks him to fine leg for a couple and then again for a single. The over ends in a real mix-up. Strauss is left at the mercy of Darren Powell’s throw from square leg, but like a true fast bowler, his throw isn’t the most accurate and Strauss scramble to safety.
15-0