Collingwood makes Windies pay

Collingwood (101no) was twice dropped badly in the thirties - and took advantage to close on a fourth Test hundred, in an England total of 352 for four midway through the second session.

Bell's share of the proceeds was an unbeaten 55, to keep the pressure on for batting positions in the England middle order - with captain Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff both due to return from injury at Headingley next week.

The West Indies had started encouragingly on a sunny day as Jerome Taylor found his range and was eventually rewarded with the wicket of Alastair Cook, who added only three more runs to his overnight 102.

Taylor and Daren Powell made the hosts work for their runs, but the Windies did not help themselves in the field.

They should have got Collingwood first of all on 31 when he drove Taylor to gully, only for Daren Ganga to put down a routine head-high catch.

The Durham batsman might have gone lbw playing no shot to the same bowler just one run later but was reprieved by umpire Asad Rauf, who judged the ball was just clearing the stumps.

Taylor, directing his pace much better than in six disappointing overs on Thursday, did finally come by a stroke of luck when Cook cut a short ball aerially straight to point - where Dwayne Bravo accepted the straightforward chance.

But a hapless effort from Taylor at deep backward-square provided Collingwood with another let-off on 36 when he mistimed a pick-up shot off Corey Collymore - only for the guilty outfielder to barely lay a hand on a catch he misjudged embarrassingly.

Bell needed 17 balls and 37 minutes to get off the mark - but his progress thereafter was serene and convincing in a chanceless 82-ball half-century, an edge wide of the slips for four to bring up the landmark being one of very few false shots.