Strauss happy to lead from front

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The England captain resumes the second day at Lord's unbeaten on 161 after hitting 22 boundaries during his six-hour stay at the crease and guiding his side to 364 for six.

"In terms of setting an example for the batsmen to go big when they get in, it was important," said Strauss, who has now claimed four centuries in just nine Tests since succeeding Kevin Pietersen as captain.

"Also, as a captain, you don't want to be scratching around not scoring runs because it adds more pressure when you don't really need more pressure.

"It feels pretty good to have got those big runs and hopefully the rest of the guys will come out and put in some good performances with bat and ball in the remaining days."

England's final score after the opening day is similar to their position in the first Test at Cardiff when they reached 336 for seven and ended up clinging on desperately for a draw on the final day.

But Strauss believes the wicket at Lord's offers more encouragement for bowlers, which gives England a better chance of pressing home their advantage if they record a competitive first-innings total.

"It's slightly disappointing to be six down from 196 for nought but there are more wicket-taking opportunities here than there were in Cardiff," he stressed.

"The ball swung around a little bit more and when it swung batting could get quite tricky but at the same time, in between that the opportunities to score were there.

"I think if we can get up to 450-odd then we're in a pretty good position in the game, but we'll probably have to bowl better than we did in Cardiff."