Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara put on a 213-run stand for the second wicket as England eased their way to a dominant 302 for two against the West Indies after day one of the second Test at The Riverside.
Bopara (108) became the fifth England batsman to register centuries in three successive innings but fell 4.1 overs before the close as Lionel Baker produced a fine in-cutter to hand the flagging tourists some late solace.
Cook, meanwhile, made a watchful 126 not out as he batted through for his ninth Test hundred. Bopara raced through the nineties with a daring assault on Sulieman Benn, which included two fours and the day's only six over long-on, to join the short list of England batsmen with three hundreds in a row.
That the other four names on that list are Herbert Sutcliffe, Denis Compton, Geoffrey Boycott and Graham Gooch speaks volumes for England's new number three.
Andrew Strauss had earlier won the toss and opted to bat first despite a hint of cloud cover. Although it later proved to be the right decision, the captain was unable to take advantage himself, departing for 26 after gloving opposite number Chris Gayle to Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps.
It was a satisfying scalp for Gayle, who has been involved in some verbal jousting with his counterpart for much of the week.
It was, though, a rare cause for celebration in the field, with the Essex duo piling on the runs as England looked to close out the two-Test series having won at Lord's.
James Anderson was sent in as nightwatchman following Bopara's dismissal and stood firm despite some aggressive bowling from the quick men.
