Roach goes round the wicket to the leftie Ballance, who lets a couple go, waiting for the right delivery to slap through point for four. Another lovely shot.

David Cunningham: England took 113 overs to bowl out West Indies in first innings. At their current poor over rate they will need to declare now.

It's safety first for Root, who has taken 60 balls to make 41 - he sees off a maiden from Taylor. Meanwhile, with plenty of ribs sizzling on a nearby BBQ, Aggers and Graeme Swann recall an ODI in Potchefstroom when the match was delayed because of the smoke and fog generated by all the braais (South African barbecues).

Have any of you ever been at a match where a stranger reason than "braai stopped play" halted the game? Such as "stuffed toy tiger stops play" at a Hampshire Academy match at the Rose Bowl's nursery ground in 2011?

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"That's a very well-made fifty. Ballance is not a David Gower-type left-hander; he's not all flair and easy on the eye. But he's very compact and he has looked very assured.

"I remember Andy Flower saying what a good player Gary Ballance was. He liked the way he shaped up and his technique. If it's good enough for Andy Flower, it's good enough for me."

Image source, Reuters

And that's a fourth Test fifty for Gary Ballance, as the left-hander cracks Roach for a lovely four through the covers. It seems now that any left-hander's cover drive will indubitably be measured against that of a certain DI Gower, but that was a terrific shot.

A sub-plot of the Trott debate seems to be this: what about Ballance opening and Trott at three? I remember reading Graeme Fowler's autobiography many years ago - he questioned why middle-order batsmen are often suggested as openers, but the reverse never happens - openers are never selected in the middle order.

Matthew West: Adam Lyth surely cannot be overlooked again for the next Test. If he doesn't play this tour, it sends the message that county runs count for nothing. Why mess with the batting line-up just to get Trott in? Pick a genuine opener to open the batting.

Old man Shivnarine Chanderpaul chases the ball from mid-on like an old man in a club game, lets the ball go straight through him and shows all of his 40 years, allowing Root to scamper a three. Ballance, two short of a half-century, defends well against Taylor.

Stuart, tax accountant: Re: Edward 14:58, I concur with you Mark - summarised perfectly. Tax law is a tricky beast that not everyone likes, people like to slag off, but everyone needs it. Much like KP.

Many, many people: After deductions, it should be nett not net.

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"I hope I'm not going to do a Michael Vaughan and jinx Joe Root. His batting looks better and better every time I see him play. He's really maturing and starting to look like the real deal. The England batting order needs a leader and Joe Root can do it."

Listen to TMS commentary via the audio icon (available in UK only).

Image source, Reuters

Kemar Roach to take the second over of the day, he went for 32 in nine overs yesterday and looked a bit down on pace. The right-handed Joe Root forges ahead with a two and a single.

Anthony: Mr Gunter (14:55), if you'd listened more carefully to Mr Boycott, you'd have heard him say: "well, I wouldn't have picked him there". In other words, Boycs wasn't saying he wouldn't have picked him: he was saying he shouldn't be opening - a point he then clarified in some detail later.

Ian, Barcelona: It doesn't really matter if Trott or Ballance opens if Cook is the other opener. It is quite likely they will both end up as de facto openers should Cook's form continue and he is back in the pavilion with less than 20 on the board.

Jerome Taylor from the Sir Andy Roberts End - England's first task must be to see the big Jamaican paceman's first spell off. Taylor, with a big grin on his face, goes round the wicket to the left-handed Gary Ballance, who gets England going with a cut for four past Big Benn at gully.

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"I can only see today going England's way, They have to get 350-400 ahead - you need four sessions to give yourselves the best opportunity to win.

"I hope they'll be positive and get those runs quickly, But I wouldn't be surprised if in this first session we see 70 or 80 runs. I know full well that in the dresssng room they'll be saying, 'Let's just get to lunch'."

Image source, Reuters

I hope for West Indies' sake they had one of those fiery pep-talks from Curtly Ambrose. At least two of their four-man attack (Kemar Roach and Sulieman Benn) were off-colour yesterday evening, putting a lot of pressure on Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder, with only Marlon Samuels's part-time off-spin as an alternative.

Taylor's up first. Aggers has spotted the Seaweed Man - he's on the other side of the ground from where he was yesterday. Let's play.

Adrian Rowden: Poor old Cookie and Trotty, having to face cheap Windies cricket balls that swing. Whatever next...

England 116-3 (38 overs) - lead by 220 runs

Batsmen: Ballance 44*, Root 32*

Fall of wickets: 15-1 (Trott 4), 20-2 (Cook 13), 52-3 (Bell 11)

Bowling figures: Taylor 8-4-12-2, Roach 9-1-32-0, Holder 7-3-20-0, Benn 9-2-34-0, Samuels 5-0-13-0

First innings: England 399; West Indies 295

Full scorecard

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

"When Trott is playing well, I don't see him moving towards mid-off with his head position. The biggest skill when batting is to be still on release of the ball but Jonathan Trott isn't. That makes it hard to be consistent. He has to be more still."

Listen to TMS commentary via the audio icon (available in UK only).

Edward: Any chance you could drop the use of "net" to describe a lead from the website's live text service? I'm at a loss to explain why it jars with me. But for balance, credit to the team for an excellent account of the Test match so far!

Apologies if it disconcerts you, Edward. Blame me. It's "net" as in the use of the word "net" to mean after tax and other deductions. So while England are "gross" 116-3, in effect they're "net" 220-3 in a one-innings match. Had they trailed by 104 on first innings, they'd be "net" 12-3. Their over-rate is, however, just "gross".

We're on for a prompt start in Antigua. A sneak preview of the lunch interval at 17:00 BST - TMS will be reporting on today's launch of the new T20 Blast season, hearing from Andrew Flintoff and Chris Woakes.

Michael Vaughan
Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

"I would have taken the risk on Trott because of his record. But Ballance would be better suited to open and have Trott at three. I don't think it would affect Gary Ballance because he's a tremendous player."