Collingwood savours Edwards battle

_{England centurion Paul Collingwood addressed the media after helping England to a huge total}

Paul Collingwood was relieved to battle through a fiery spell from Fidel Edwards on his way to an eighth Test century.

Collingwood made 113 out of 566 for nine declared - before West Indies replied with 55 for one by stumps on day two at the Antigua Recreation Ground - as England sought to level the series.

After sharing a 94-run fifth-wicket stand with Kevin Pietersen, who made 51, Collingwood said: “We went through a spell this morning where Fidel was bowling quite quick.

“We had to get through it - and then we scored pretty quickly and have had another good day.

“Kevin and I like those kind of situations; we got stuck in there.

"It was flying around our ears, but sometimes that is good for batsmen. It gets the blood pumping around the body.”

Windies fast bowler Edwards explained the problems facing batsmen, and the opportunities available if any of the seamers can get their line and length just right on a slightly unpredictable surface.

“It was slow yesterday. But today it was coming on more, and a bit more up and down,” he said.

Paul Collingwood takes evasive action against short stuff rearing from football pitch markings in St John's

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The pitch bears the scars of football - for which the venue has been used in the two years since it last hosted international cricket in the run-up to the 2007 World Cup.

With the centre circle situated just short of a length, the bowlers have an obvious target to aim for.

“There are two areas on the wicket with two lines across them from the football field,” Edwards explained.

“When the ball hits it you don’t know whether it will go up or down.”

It all means the hosts have a tough job on their hands to make the game safe - but Edwards is optimistic.

“We have a lot of batting to do, but we have batting in our side,” he said.

Collingwood confirmed England’s bowlers gameplan was to make the most out of the unique conditions.

“We’ve seen quite a few balls that have misbehaved,” he said.

“If we can keep getting balls in that area we’ll get something out of it. We’ll be honing in on that area tomorrow.”