Strauss' morning blues

Andrew Strauss will have slept well last night after a long-awaited century ensured his form would not be a focus of attention for a while to come. However, he could not continue very far with his innings when he was caught behind having added just one to his overnight score although it needed the DRS to give the verdict. In a way Strauss' early departure was not a surprise because he has been there a few times before. It was the sixth occasion he had begun the day with a hundred under his belt but managed to add fewer than six to his total the next day. Maybe he's just not a morning person?

A first Test wicket is a moment to savour and getting it at the Home of Cricket only adds to the feeling. Shannon Gabriel had waited 17 overs to open his account when he seamed one back between Matt Prior's flat-foot drive. He responded by heading off towards extra cover in celebration, quickly followed by his team-mates who were soon mobbing him. West Indies have many problems, but this was a moment of pure joy for a young cricketer.

In the first innings it was Adrian Barath who undid his hard work with a loose shot and second time around it was Kieran Powell. England did not try to hide their plan from Powell with Strauss pushing Ian Bell out to deep square-leg. Stuart Broad then did his job by producing a well-directed short delivery and instead of sensing danger and bailing out, Powell played a limp pull which resulted in a top edge straight to Bell. Both of Powell's dismissals in this match have given him a lesson in Test cricket.

Before the match Jonny Bairstow was asked about the challenge of swapping the wicketkeeping gloves for the outfield and said it was not a problem; he had done plenty of fielding in his time. Indeed, he has impressed in both one-day internationals and Twenty20s with his speed across the ground and strong arm. He was given a chance to show his credentials when Darren Bravo played a square drive but declined the run only to see Kirk Edwards half way up the pitch. Bairstow took aim and hit the non-striker's stumps with Edwards nowhere near getting back in to make his first significant impact in Test cricket.

It has not been the happiest Test for Bravo. Graeme Swann has made tormenting left-handers a pastime and it did not take long to work him over. He nearly removed him in his first over when a thick edge went wide of slip and he probed away from the Nursery End with some enticing footmarks to target. Then, in a beautiful piece of variation, he sent down his arm ball which, with the aid of the slope, drifted back into Bravo but the batsman had not picked it and shouldered arms. A second later he heard the ball clip the off stump.