English summer witnessed a wait like no other for cricketing action. For months, there has been uncertainty over the future of the sport but finally, after weeks of anticipation, when the world was set for Test cricket to return, an old foe returned: rain.

Gloomy weather delayed the start on Wednesday of the first Test between England and the West Indies at Southampton, the first international match since March.

England captain Ben Stokes decided to bat. England left out veteran paceman Stuart Broad after rain meant there was no play before lunch in the first of this three-Test series being played behind closed doors. When play resumed, Dom Sibley was bowled for a duck by Shannon Gabriel as only three overs were possible.

The England and West Indies players took a knee to show support for Black Lives Matter movement ahead of the first ball.

The eagerly anticipated fixture marks the sport’s global return from months of coronavirus-enforced lockdown. But as the players warmed up on the outfield under grey skies, there was sufficient rain for the Ageas Bowl pitch to remain fully covered and prevent the toss taking place at 0930 GMT as scheduled.

No spectators will be allowed to attend the three-Test series, which concludes with two matches at Old Trafford. Players and officials are staying at on-site hotels to stop the spread of Covid-19, with bowlers unable to use saliva to shine the ball as a health measure.

International travel restrictions mean that, for the first time since 2002, both on-field umpires came from one of the competing teams, with English officials Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth in the middle.

Match referee Chris Broad could find himself presiding over a match involving his son Stuart if the England paceman is selected in the hosts’ final XI. But any disciplinary issues are set to be referred to a remote referee.

Ben Stokes will captain England for the first time, with regular skipper Joe Root missing the match because of the birth of his second child.

West Indies have not won a Test series in England since 1988 but they hold the Wisden Trophy after a 2-1 series win in the Caribbean last year. Jason Holder’s side have gone ahead with the tour even though Britain has the highest virus toll in Europe, with more than 44,000 deaths.

With the wait for cricketing action extended by the weather, Twitter was full of jokes (along with appreciation for Sky Sports’ segment on Black Lives Matter, with former cricketers Michael Holding, Ebony Rainford-Brent and Nasser Hussain.)

Then, we had three overs of action before rain came in again to take players off the field:

And, of course, there was a fiitting Jofra Archer tweet from 2014: