It's a war of attrition and you have to make sure you don't fall to their plan Andrew Strauss

Andrew Strauss and Graham Thorpe adopted an ethos of hard labour to keep England in the third Test on a tough third day against West Indies.

The hosts, still 162 runs behind on 233-5 at Old Trafford, had stuttered to 40-3 and were indebted to the pair's 177-run stand for the fourth wicket.

"Thorpey and I had to do a bit of hard work just to get us back on track.

"The wicket is not easy to play shots on and we had to grind it out," said Strauss, who fell for 90.

"The odd one flew through a bit and the odd one was a little bit slow but there was little sideways movement.

"So as long as you lined it up straight, you had a chance of sticking around."

Dwayne Bravo accounted for Strauss, exploiting the rough outside the left-hander's off stump to bowl him and earn figures of 3-36.

"It's hard when they come around the wicket and bowl it there," Strauss remarked.

"But you have to be really patient and wait for them to bowl one straight so you can knock it to the leg-side.

"It's a war of attrition and you have to make sure you don't fall to their plan."

England were put on the back foor earlier in the day when the Windies stretched their first innings to 395-9 declared from a first-day score of 275-6.

Carlton Baugh did the damage, notching his maiden Test fifty with a knock of 68.

"It's a good position for me and i'm working hard at it," Baugh said.