Late wickets take the gloss off comanding opening day for England

Strong batting performances from Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan put England in a commanding position at Lords, but two late wickets took the gloss off a good opening day.

Strauss, who top scored yesterday with 96, put on 76 with Cook (36) and 142 with captain Michael Vaughan (79), although he'll be dissapointed not to reach a century having been caught by Dravid off Anil Kumble.

Strauss has struggled to find his form in recent months but, having been dropped by Dinesh Karthik on 43, his luck turned and he put in a fine performance. Vaughan, who had won the toss and decided to bat, will be equally happy with his score and will hope he can continue to make progress having struggled to recover from a knee injury.

Openers Cook and Strauss got off to an explosive start, scoring 40 runs in just five overs, as India's bowlers failed to cope with the Lord's pitch.

However, Anil Kumble and RP Singh sparked a late revival from India to keep them in the match going into day 2. Kumble got Paul Collingwood lbw for a duck and Vaughan edged Singh behind.

Pietersen and Sidebottom start in the middle for England on day two. Pietersen scored his runs in typical fashion yesterday, hitting 34 in 51 balls including 5 fours.

England will be looking to post a big score to protect their inexperienced bowling line-up, who share just 37 caps between them.