Blackwood is a reluctant blocker - the sort of player whose defensive strokes even carry a hint of aggression. He punches his forward defensive rather than dead-batting it. Still, he's acquitting himself well here, and he blocks out another maiden from Tredwell.

Sulieman Benn is all smiles on the West Indies balcony - I wonder if he'll still be wearing that broad grin if he finds himself at the crease in a couple of hours, fending off bouncers from Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. Tredwell scoots through another maiden.

Football Fragmento: Not long now til England get the new ball. That's going to be massive. Hard to see WI batting the rest of the day.

West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin never strikes me as the sort of skipper to inspire the troops with rousing, chest-thumping speeches - more of an Iain Duncan Smith than a Winston Churchill, to paraphrase Gareth Southgate's famous description of Sven Goran Eriksson.

But then again, as IDS said, you should never underestimate the determination of a quiet man. Ramdin does look in resolute mood here, and he blocks out a second successive maiden from Chris Jordan - only a leg bye to the tally.

Mike Ball: I'm going against the grain here but I think Tredwell has done a fine job in this match and bowled well.

James Tredwell takes the cherry from the other end. Blackwood, a naturally aggressive batsman who seems to be engaged in a constant fitful struggle to rein in his instincts, gives in to the promptings of the devil on his shoulder, lofting Tredwell down the ground for a one-bounce four, and then flaying him inside-out over the covers for four more. Well, those sort of shots are OK as long as you get away with them...

Image source, Reuters

Geoffrey Boycott
Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

"It's important for England not to lose their sense of urgency. They've had a wonderful morning and are in a great position."

Richard from Bury: Middle order looking solid, so don't tinker with that. For me Lyth in for Trott, keep Tredwell and put in Wood for Jordan. Nice ballance to the team!

Hugh, Coventry: England's attack I think would be massively helped with a left-arm seamer to give some variety. Starc and Boult perform this role for Australia and New Zealand respectively but England arguably haven't had a decent left-armer since Sidebottom.

West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin blocks out the first over after lunch for a maiden.

Thank you Mitch. Chris Jordan is going to take the ball after lunch, five wickets to go for England...

Plenty of debates going on - there's a Cook debate, Trott debate, KP debate, Tredwell debate and plenty else.

And with James Anderson now level with Sir Ian Botham and one away from taking the England record in his own right, and the players takign the field again, it's time for James Gheerbrant to talk you through the afternoon session - very possibly the last session of the Test.

Rich: People will always argue over captaincy skills. What is not up for argument is that Cook is not making runs. That is a big issue.

Marty Mc: Cannot wait too long when Aussies arrive it will be sterner test. New openers needed. Sorry but Cook time up?

Elsewhere in the world of cricket, Bangladesh have made a good start to their one-day series with Pakistan, winning the first ODI in Mirpur by 79 runs thanks to centuries by Tamim Iqbal (132) and Mushfiqur Rahim (106).

Roverstalk: Clarke just thinks the students of Oxford MCCU are obviously the same quality as Aus.

The Sun cricket correspondent John Etheridge on TMS: "I wonder if Pietersen would be playing county cricket if he'd got a bigger deal in the IPL. He was only bought at base price by Hyderabad and wouldn't have earned a lot after tax - would he still be there if he'd gone for a million?"

The Mirror cricket correspondent Dean Wilson on TMS: "I think Kevin deep down knows that he's not going to play for England again, The way it all finished left a very sour taste. If he goes and scores runs for Surrey, at least he can say he gave it his best shot. I think it's important that the ECB takes a more mature stance on the issue - I think it's ludicrous to say a player is banned from playing for England."

Re; Michael Vaughan's comments at 17:07:

Mark Bilsborough: So when Aussies do it it's sledging or even bullying; when we do it, it's "chirp... designed to draw poor shots from batsmen."

The Sun cricket correspondent John Etheridge on TMS: "Numbers three, four, five and six in this match all scored more than 100 runs. I've thought all along, how can Pietersen ever play for England again? Just go and read a couple of chapters from the book, and it's difficult to see how he can take the field with Jimmy Anderson, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad again. It still seems very unlikely."

The Ashes is normally preceded by a "phony war" of comments from players and ex-players about who should be picked, and why.

A cheeky shot across the bows from Australia captain Michael Clarke - he says Kevin Pietersen "has scored enough runs" to warrant an England recall.

Those runs? 170 against the might of... the students of Oxford MCCU.

If any players on the fringe of the Australia squad are reading this, perhaps a quick double ton in a benefit match against the bowling of Dame Edna and Mrs Mangel from Neighbours might get them a call-up under that logic from Clarke...

The Mirror cricket correspondent Dean Wilson on TMS: "I would have picked Adam Lyth as the opener ahead of him. He's earned his chance, he's a positive opening batsman. The way England play their cricket is quite important, and I think Lyth would give them more positivity at the top of the order."