PORT-OF-SPAIN, March 19: Fast bowler Steve Harmison took three wickets in eight balls to give England the advantage as West Indies slipped to 110 for three at lunch on day one of the second Test on Friday.

Chris Gayle and Devon Smith added 100 for the first wicket before Harmison, who completed figures of seven for 12 to help England win the first Test by 10 wickets, struck.

He removed Gayle for 62 and Smith for 35 before grabbing the prize wicket of West Indies captain Brian Lara for a duck to put the visitors on top. Ramnaresh Sarwan was unbeaten on nine at the interval.

Following his team's crushing defeat in Jamaica, Lara had demanded a response from his players and his request was met with superb batting from Gayle and Smith.

Matthew Hoggard produced early swing and Harmison extracted lift but the West Indies openers were rarely troubled. Gayle, hugely disappointing in front of his home crowd in Kingston, punished any wayward deliveries from the England bowlers.

Opening his account with a boundary, Gayle crashed eight more and a six off Ashley Giles as he raced to his 13th Test fifty from just 58 balls. West Indies reached their century 15 minutes before lunch but just as it looked as if they would end the session without losing a wicket Harmison struck in his second spell.

Gayle was comfortably caught by wicket-keeper Chris Read and in Harmison's next over Smith was trapped lbw. Lara came out to a standing ovation from his home crowd but he lasted just four balls as a lifter from Harmison caught the shoulder of his bat and Giles took the catch.

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