CHRIS Gayle came out on top of his personal battle with Andrew Strauss this morning - but England still enjoyed the best of the morning session at a sparsely-populated Riverside.

The hosts were 85-1 at lunch after the opening morning of the second Test, with Alastair Cook unbeaten on 39 and Ravi Bopara nine not out.

That represents a successful start for England's batsmen, even if excitement was in short supply during a slow-paced morning session.

Strauss' was the only wicket to fall before lunch, and after his spat with Gayle earlier in the week, it was inevitable that the England skipper would fall at the hands of his West Indian rival.

Having cruised to 26 without alarm, Strauss gloved an attempted sweep to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin, who took a difficult catch down the leg-side.

That ended an opening stand of 69 - the ninth 50 partnership Strauss and Alastair Cook have scored together for their country - but did little to check England's steady progress.

Strauss and Gayle's head-to-head provided an intriguing sub-plot, but the day's main talking point was the sparse attendance at Chester-le-Street.

Around 2,000 supporters were present as the day got underway - little more than watched the start of Durham's opening County Championship game against Yorkshire - and there were more than 10,000 empty seats for the whole of the morning session.

** READ ONLINE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND A FULL REPORT AND ANALYSIS IN TOMORROW'S NORTHERN ECHO **