West Indies players congratulate Fidel Edwards (right) after he dismissed England's Michael Vaughan during the third day of the fourth Test at the Riverside Cricket ground in Chester-le-Street, England, yesterday. - AP Photo/Dave Thompson

DURHAM, United Kingdom:

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored his second successive unbeaten hundred against England, admitted his goal of spending long periods at the crease is the reason behind his success.

Chanderpaul, who came to the wicket with his team reeling on 34 for three the previous afternoon, carried his bat for a majestic 136 in nearly seven hours of batting to provided the backbone of the Windies' first innings total of 287 all out.

He had scored an unbeaten 116 in just over seven hours in the previous Test and commenting on how he prepares his mind to bat for long periods, the Guyanese put it down to hard work at training.

"It is the way I batted, that's the type of batsman I am. I go out there and look to dig in and work hard. I have done a lot of work in the nets, from in there (the nets) you start to prepare your mind to bat long and it helps when you get out there," he told journalists at a press conference following close of play.

"I don't count time, just innings by innings, session by session and try and bat as long as I can. We were in a difficult position and to come out and put my head down and bat through the innings was good."

The left-hander was dropped on nine on Saturday and said he was grateful for the opportunity, but warned that the West Indies have much work ahead.

"I'm thankful because in Test matches it's difficult to give a batsman a chance. Sometimes they carry on and get big scores. I'm just happy I was able to carry on."

He added: "It's not over, we're still not in the best position. We ended up with a decent total, we probably would have liked to go on and get past 300 but we didn't. We have a fair total on the board."

Most experienced

Chanderpaul, the team's most experienced batsman, shared three crucial partnerships - 86 for the fifth wicket with Dwayne Bravo (44), 58 for the sixth wicket with Marlon Samuels (19), and 58 for the final wicket with Corey Collymore (13).

Asked what the communication was like between himself and last man Collymore, he said it was "good".

"Corey came in at the bottom and nobody expected us to have a partnership over 50 and we did and that was really good. We helped each other out there. Sometimes I was a little too relaxed out there and he said 'you need to buckle down and look a little deeper because you're looking a little too relaxed'.

"We helped each other and that is the way it should be out there when you are with your partner. Sometimes I tend to relax a little bit and it can cost you your wicket, Corey picked it up and he told me that I wasn't looking too tight and to try and get back tight."

Collymore returned to grab a wicket late in the day and Fidel Edwards had a triple which left England at 121 for four.

Commenting on the need to put the ball in the right areas Chanderpaul, the team's former skipper, noted: "When we came out we didn't start too well but we came back and we picked up a few wickets and we are right back in the game now.

"Hopefully tomorrow we can come back and put the ball in the right areas. If you put the ball in the right areas you will get wickets. We have to be patient and things will happen for us."

In terms of what the team's approach will be when it bats again, he said: "We still have to go out and bat well and put some runs on the board, we have to put a decent total for them to chase in the second innings. They have a lot of batters who are in good nick."