Alastair Cook converted his first Test century for 14 months into a career-best 139 not out, and Kevin Pietersen massaged his average with an unbeaten 72, as England overcame some early uncertainty to push the fourth Test at Bridgetown to the deathliest of stalemates. The end, when it was finally negotiated at 4.50pm, came with England's players kicking footballs and twiddling their thumbs on the balcony, and West Indies' captain, Chris Gayle, desperate to pull the plug on the contest. England had converted their first-innings deficit into a healthy lead of 130, with Cook's eighth Test century complementing the 94 he made on the opening day of the contest.
Given that West Indies racked up a gargantuan 749 for 9 declared in their first innings, the blamelessness of this pitch was never in question, especially once the shine had gone off the new ball, and though Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah failed to capitalise on the conditions, there was never much danger of an upset once Pietersen had hit his stride. West Indies tried all manner of bowling combinations, and even brought their assistant coach, David Williams, out of retirement, as he stood at slip in what is believed to be his first stint in a Test match since England played on this very ground in 1997-98.
Despite the tedium of the final session, in which clock-watching was the over-riding concern of all parties, it was not an entirely fret-free day for England. They resumed in the morning on 6 for 0, with two recent precedents combining to undermine their collective confidence. The first was their catastrophic defeat at Adelaide in December 2006, when a first-innings total of 551 for 6 was not enough to ensure against defeat. The second, of course, came earlier on this very tour. After being bowled out for 51 in barely a session in Jamaica last month, all possibilities remained open.
