ANDREW STRAUSS found his feet at Riverside to hit only his second 50 from his last 16 Test innings to put England back on track - but the gamble of a night-watchman backfired against the West Indies.

The tourists had frustrated Michael Vaughan's side on the third day's play at the Chester-le-Street venue when last man Corey Collymore resisted the England attack alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul with a 98-minute tenth-wicket stand.

Chanderpaul, the man largely responsible for steering the Windies to a healthy 287 first innings score, ended 136 not out, with Collymore stubbornly helping him along with 13 prior to being bowled lbw by Monty Panesar before tea.

But if that total, in overcast conditions and on a slow pitch, was solid then Strauss soon got to work on pulling England closer before a late collapse.

The Middlesex batsman, whose last 50 was in December in Melbourne against Australia, waltzed to the half century off 80 deliveries and inside 88 minutes; eventually reaching 72 at the end of the day.

Not even the dismissal of opening partner Alastair Cook, when he leg glanced to slip Denesh Ramdin from seamer Fidel Edwards' ball on 13, could distract his confident way of thinking.

Nor did the dismissal of Vaughan for 19 - when he edged Edwards to second slip Dwayne Bravo -thwart Strauss ahead of the final two days play of the final Test.

The removal of the ineffective night-watchman Matthew Hoggard for nought after just four balls, when he edged Collymore to slip Chris Gayle, raised eyebrows.

And more of England's work was undone when Kevin Pietersen lasted just one more ball than his team-mate, caught by Ramdin from Collymore's last ball of the day. England will restart this morning on 121-4.