England v West Indies, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge, 2nd day

England respond strongly as Roach suffers

Tea England 123 for 1 (Strauss 45*, Trott 35*) trail West Indies 370 (Samuels 117, Sammy 106, Bresnan 4-104) by 247 runs

There are endless explanations for bowling a no-ball, some of them more valid than others, but no amount of analysis could bring solace to West Indies at Trent Bridge after Alastair Cook was given two reprieves either side of lunch in the second Test when Kemar Roach overstepped and lost the chance to dismiss England's most dogged performer.

Cook had made only a single when he was well caught by the wicketkeeper, Denesh Ramdin, in the third of five overs that England had to face before lunch. It seemed unfortunate until it dawned that it was Roach's 20th no ball of the series; it was actually negligent.

Then almost beyond belief he repeated the indiscretion in his sixth over, another bat hung out to dry by Cook, a more regulation catch for Ramdin. Roach stared into his twinkling gold chain and may have briefly caught sight of a guilty face staring back at him. He looks rhythmical enough, but he is not repetitive and 100 boot scratches on the ground are not about to solve that.

Roach, the most threatening member of West Indies' attack, has been this way before. He had India's captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, caught behind off no balls in successive overs in a Test against India at Eden Gardens last year, but he does not seem to have learned from the experience.

It would be unfair to suggest, however, that Roach's indiscipline is symptomatic of a wider West Indies malaise. Their cricket has been disciplined throughout the series and despite perfect batting conditions they restricted England's innings to two runs an over before Cook, on 24, gave Ramdin his third catch.

This time it was a regulation delivery - and a ball of tighter line, too - delivered by Ravi Rampaul, who bowled a probing new-ball spell despite carrying the sort of excess baggage that Ryanair would charge a small fortune for.

Once the ball began to soften, though, England made serene progress in perfect batting conditions through Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott, who had stroked 80 at a rate of five an over by tea. The occasional ball seamed Strauss on a fullish length, but much onus rested with the offspin off Shane Shillingford, who had an exploratory three overs before the interval.

Darren Sammy could delight in a maiden Test hundred as West Indies were dismissed for 370 on the second morning. But if the celebrations belonged entirely to Sammy, much of the satisfaction rested with England as they rounded up the last four wickets within 90 minutes.

Some Test centuries impress you, some Test centuries move you, some just add another layer to Test cricket's statistics. As long as you were not an England bowler Sammy's maiden Test hundred was more liable to make you smile. It was a rip roaring affair, a collection of powerful strokes that were audacious in their adventure and charming in their unorthodoxy. It was a ride that you would not expect to see very often and that made it even more worthwhile.

England's bowlers did not share the delight. There were too many thick edges and technical blemishes for that and when Sammy's first Test century came up in his 26th Test it was entirely appropriate that it did so with a moment of fortune that sent them looking to the heavens in disbelief.

In fact, make that two moments of fortune, in successive balls, too. Six overs into the morning, Sammy bludgeoned a length ball from Stuart Broad wide of gully off a thick edge. The shot that took him to 100 was a travesty, an intended whip through midwicket that sailed just wide of the diving Ian Bell at gully. Broad kept his counsel; not so long ago he would have eaten the stumps in fury.

Sammy beaming smile lit up Trent Bridge, and there was contentment in the applause, too, on another sun-baked morning because his innings, 106 from 156 balls, had provided rich entertainment. It was only his second first-class century. His worth as West Indies Test captain has been perpetually questioned - he entered his 26th Test with an average below 20 and only two half-centuries, and his bowling does not entirely compensate - and he deserved his day in the sun.

Tim Bresnan, whose retention of England's third seamer role ahead of Steve Finn has come into focus ahead of the South Africa series later this summer, added lustre to his figures by taking three of the last four West Indies wickets, finishing with 4 for 104.

He removed Sammy on the pull shot at deep midwicket for 107, a trap which by then Sammy was on too much of a high to take much notice of, so ending a stand of 204 in 52 overs, a seventh-wicket record for Tests at Trent Bridge. Bresnan also dismissed Marlon Samuels, West Indies' other century maker, in his next over for 117 as Anderson held a sliced drive in the gully. The 200 that Samuels had therefore predicted he would be congratulated upon by Anderson therefore did not come to pass.

Bresnan's intervention was necessary. Anderson and Broad both had speeds well done on normal after their exertions of the first day, registering around 80mph on a bountiful pitch for batting. Neither looked as if they had leapt out of bed energetically and before them was the sort of featherbeds designed to give any fast bowler a sleepless night