Lunch West Indies 23 for 1 (Chanderpaul 5*, Hodge 5*, Abbas 1-8) vs Pakistan

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, which is hosting its first Test. Right from the start, Abbas was at his metronomic best, settling into a fourth-stump line West Indies did little to sway him from. Five of his seven overs were maidens, with the bowler finally making the pressure tell when King attempted to break the shackles by cutting one that was too close to his body, and chopping on in the process.

While there wasn’t much swing on offer for either him or any of the other Pakistan quicks, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali, there was enough seam movement both ways to trouble the batters. A handful of close lbw shouts ended up going the hosts’ way, with Pakistan burning a review when Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who was exceptionally circumspect in an innings where he took 40 balls for his five runs, was struck on the back leg. The Hawk-Eye showed the Abbas delivery had landed just outside leg stump.

But the sky, which was sunny at the toss, began to darken ominously in the last half hour of the truncated session. After 14 overs, the rain began to fall, and only grew heavier once the players came off, forcing the sides into an early lunch.

Both teams observed a minute of silence before the start of the game to mark the passing of Sir Garfield Sobers last week, with the West Indies players and the umpires wearing black armbands.