Kingstown, July 10: Persistent showers restricted Bangladesh and a new-look West Indies to just over an hour`s play on the first day of the first cricket Test at Arnos Vale. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes gave Bangladesh a solid platform with an unbroken stand of 42 in between the showers. Imrul struck three fours in an unbeaten 26 while fellow left-hander Tamim hit one boundary in 14 not out. The morning session was lost to the weather and play began only after lunch after new Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and chose to bat.

On a rainy day on a sluggish pitch after a delayed start, Bangladesh reached a comfortable 42 for 0 before rains returned to terminate the proceedings.

Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, the left-handed openers, carefully negotiated a pretty good opening spell from Tino Best and the aggressive Kemar Roach as they eased themselves in the middle.

Tamim had a rush of blood in the first over when he slashed a full delivery over second slip. It was the only error from him, though. He put his head down and started to play the ball on its merit. Kayes was tested by a few bouncers from Roach and Best before he started to find his timing. He got off the mark on the 11th ball he faced before he unfurled couple of square-driven boundaries to get going. His best shot, and the shot of the morning, came against Roach when he stepped forward to square drive aerially over point.

For their part, the second-string West Indies team started off well with Best and Roach managing to squeeze some bounce on this slow track. The pitch didn’t offer any help to the seamers but they bent their back, hit the right areas and used the bouncers intelligently to test the batsmen.

However, once the two were finished, the attack started to look pedestrian with the medium-pacers Darren Sammy and Dave Bernard in operation. The pitch started to look increasingly benign when rain intervened again to force an early tea.

Once the game resumed Sammy started to used the moisture-laden track to seam the ball around and pose couple of uncomfortable moments to the batsmen before torrential downpour prevented the game from continuing further on day one.

West Indies, forced to choose a replacement squad after the original 13-man squad chose to boycott the series due to contract wrangles with the West Indies Cricket Board, provided seven players with their first Test caps. Batsmen Dale Richards, Omar Phillips and Travis Dowlin, wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton, fast bowler Kemar Roach and spinners Ryan Austin and Nikita Miller made their debuts. Only captain Floyd Reifer, fast bowler Tino Best and allrounders Darren Sammy and Dave Bernard Jr. had previously appeared in Tests. Reifer, two weeks short of his 37th birthday, played the last of his four Tests in January 1999, and said he was proud to be captain.

Bureau Report