Strauss leads England

England captain Andrew Strauss slog-sweeps on his way to a century against West Indies on the first day of the fourth Test at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday.Photo: AFP

Andrew Strauss believes it was his responsibility to set England on the right path in their bid for a series-levelling victory over West Indies in the fourth Test which opened on Thursday.
The England captain hit 142, his 16th Test hundred, to carry his side to 301 for three when stumps were drawn on the opening day at Kensington Oval.
It was Strauss' second hundred of the series and followed his 169 in the first innings of the previous Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground.
"It is important as captain to lead by example and I suppose if you want a team to play in a positive way then you show you are able to do that yourself," he told reporters.
"I am fortunate at the moment that I am feeling in good form and that makes it easier to go out and be positive."
Strauss admitted his rich vein of form owed as much to the true nature of the pitches as to his own ability.
"The last couple of pitches we've played on, the ball has come onto the bat pretty well," he said.
"After seven or eight overs here, it became apparent that the percentages were slightly in our favour. In those circumstances it is important to be positive and take the game to the opposition.
"You get a rhythm to your batting on any given day and certainly I felt that continuing to be positive was the best way for me to go in this instance.
"It is great to be playing with freedom, but I personally believe you need to earn the right to play with that freedom, and maybe the grafting innings I played last summer have helped me get enough confidence to be able to play with more freedom."
Strauss shared an England record opening stand in Tests against West Indies of 229 with fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook.
The England vice captain fell six runs short of his eighth Test hundred and has not scored a Test hundred since reaching the landmark in Sri Lanka a little over a year ago.
This was his third straight score between 50 and 100 in the series and he has now scored 11 half-centuries since his last hundred.
"It is one of those things that is clearly a bit of a mental issue for him (Cook) at the moment," Strauss said.
"It is not something I am overly worried about as a captain because he continues to make very important contributions to the team and he will get over that line and get that hundred.
"Then he will be back to square one and feel a lot more relaxed about the way he's playing.
"It is better to have the problem in the 50s and 60s than the single figures and teens."