DERBY, England, CMC – Rain allowed just 28 overs but West Indies struggled in the time available on the opening day of the four-day tour match against England Lions yesterday.

Sent in by England’s ‘A’ side, the Windies finished the day on 76 for four after rain ravaged both the pre and post-lunch sessions at the County Ground.

The tourists had crawled to eight for one off 19 balls at the start when the weather intervened and play was not possible again until 5 pm (12 pm Eastern Caribbean time).

Lendl Simmons was the early casualty, caught at the wicket for four off the 20-year old seamer Chris Woakes who finished with all four scalps to fall for 26 runs.

When play finally resumed late in the evening, Ramnaresh Sarwan stroked an entertaining 31 from 41 balls to brighten an otherwise bleak day in the East Midlands.

The right-hander struck six fours in just under an hour at the crease but was the only Windies batsman to shine as his counterparts struggled in the gloomy conditions.

Left-handed Devon Smith fell cheaply for eight after the resumption with the score on 20, caught at the wicket by Tim Ambrose prodding at one that left him.

Captain Denesh Ramdin followed him soon afterward, caught at third slip by Ian Bell for four with the score on 34.

A promising 21-run stand between Sarwan and Chanderpaul was cut short when Sarwan played an ill-advised drive and was gobbled up in the slip cordon by Samit Patel.

Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash then came to the Windies rescue with an unbroken 21-run stand for the fifth wicket.

The left-hander Chanderpaul has so far batted 72 minutes and faced 49 balls for 15 while Nash’s 11 has come from 42 balls.