ENGLAND have piled on the runs to establish a strong position on the opening day of the second Test at Riverside.

The hosts have reached 184-1 at tea at Chester-le-Street, with opener Alastair Cook unbeaten on 82 and Ravi Bopara 59 not out.

Andrew Strauss is the only player to have been dismissed today, but while the England skipper will have been disappointed to have fallen to his opposite number Chris Gayle, he will have been delighted with his side's progress on a placid pitch.

Cook and Bopara have put on an unbroken 115 for the second wicket, with both players exuding calm authority in the face of some uninspired West Indian bowling.

Cook is closing in on his ninth Test century, while Bopara is following his 143 in the first Test at Lord's with another impressive knock.

Strauss departed midway through the morning session, 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 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 day's play.

With the weather having remained dry for the whole of the first two sessions, Durham officials will have been disappointed that more spectators did not decide to attend on the day.

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