AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CMC):

A DAY that started brightly and then turned gloomy ended with much promise for the West Indies in their first-class tour match against the Auckland Aces yesterday.

Openers Sewnarine Chattergoon and Xavier Marshall batted through the entire final period to carry the West Indies to 82 without loss, in reply to the Aces' first innings total of 587 for seven declared when stumps were drawn on the second day. Marshall was not out on 45 and left-hander Chattergoon was undefeated on 31 to give the West Indies a solid start to their innings.

The match is West Indies' only warm-up before the first Test of two which opens on Wednesday night (Jamaica time) at Dunedin's University Oval.

And Marshall and Chattergoon gave some evidence that the visitors' batsmen will be keen to take advantage of a docile Eden Park Outer Oval pitch and short boundaries to get themselves attuned.

This followed an up-and-down performance from West Indies in the first two periods, as Aces captain Richard Jones completed a maiden, first-class double hundred of 201 and Gareth Hopkins raced to his eighth first-class hundred, an undefeated 103 to pile on the runs.

Frustrated

The West Indies were also frustrated when Kyle Mills hit an even 50 and the lower half of the batting continued to rally.

Fidel Edwards was the West Indies' most successful bowler with 3-125 from 29 overs. Edwards made an early breakthrough, after Auckland continued from their overnight total of 359 for two, when Reece Young was adjudged lbw for 61.

The West Indies continued to suffer when Hopkins joined Jones and they continued to plunder the runs. But Edwards struck in the last half-hour before lunch, when he removed Jones caught close to the wicket, following a near seven-hour innings in which the batsman struck 26 fours and three sixes from 330 balls.

The West Indies failed to make further headway as Mills and Hopkins consolidated in a fifth-wicket stand to carry the Aces to 443 for four at lunch.

After the interval, the West Indies endured more misery when Hopkins raced to his eighth first-class hundred to allow the Auckland Aces to declare at tea. The West Indies would have been relieved to have left the field, after the 32-year-old Hopkins continued to prove why the ground has been described as a batsman's haven this season as the wicketkeeper/batsman shared three successive half-century stands.

The visitors were frustrated as Hopkins, who has played one Test and 12 one-day internationals for New Zealand, added 71 either side of the interval with Mills, 63 with teenage newcomer Jeet Raval and 55 with Colin de Grandhomme.