West Indians 237 for 4 (Morton 103*, Chanderpaul 82*) v Somerset
Scorecard

Runako Morton was fierce on anything short in his 103 © Getty Images Enlarge

Runako Morton and Shivnarine Chanderpaul put on a fine, aggressive stand of 151 to rescue West Indies from capitulation on the opening day of their warm-up against Somerset at Taunton.

In what is their only match before the first Test against England at Lord's on Thursday, West Indies chose to bat first and, after rain had delayed the start, eventually strode out to the middle at 11.15am. A flurry of boundaries from Chris Gayle, who lost his opening partner Daren Ganga for just 2, got their innings off to a flyer before they scampered back to the pavilion as the rain began to fall more persistently, and the sizeable crowd of 700 or so sat patiently under umbrellas.

Shortly after midday, the rain relented but Gayle couldn't capitalise on his rollicking start, a thick inside edge off Mark Turner crashing into his stumps. And in the following over Devon Smith drove loosely at the disciplined Steffan Jones, looping the ball straight to cover and leaving Ramnaresh Sarwan to question his decision to bat first.

In the face of capitulation, on the country's flattest pitch, Runako Morton attacked with vigour and four fours while, at the other end, Chanderpaul was steadfast in defence - the only West Indian thus far in their innings to show patience. Even he, though, couldn't resist attacking, gradually increasing the tempo of his innings to match that of Morton.

Severe on anything short - and anything in the blockhole from the spinners - Morton launched 15 fours and two sixes, including a delightful, effortless loft into the Ian Botham stand over Michael Munday's head, and brought up his hundred to stake a claim for a spot in Thursday's Test. But again the rain fell, forcing the players off early with Chanderpaul 18 short of his century.

Morton however had to retire hurt after he pulled up with a slight muscle strain in his right thigh. Gayle too injured his left thumb while batting and fortunately, x-rays did not reveal any fractures. Both are expected to be fit for the first Test.