The West Indians were given a thorough examination by a patchwork Essex attack on the opening day of the tourists’ two-month tour of England and Ireland.

There were a number of promising cameo performances from Essex’s young bowlers during a sometimes frustrating day that ended with the West Indians on 309/8.

Opener Kraigg Brathwaite gave a masterclass in obduracy as he weighed anchor for three hours 40 minutes before he departed on 61 just before tea to a jaffa from Callum Taylor.

Medium-pacer Taylor was the pick of the Essex bunch with 2-33 from 10 overs, even though he did not enter the fray until the 48th over as the seventh of eight bowlers used. But he soon had Brathwaite and Roston Chase ducking and weaving in their crease with a succession of inswingers and nip-backers.

Taylor added Chase with a yorker that took out the middle and leg stumps, but only after the all-rounder had added 119 in 23 overs for the fifth wicket with Jermaine Blackwood, and scored 81 himself.

Debutant Sam Cook, 19, shone with the new-ball in the morning and was rewarded in his fourth over when he beat the left-handed Kieran Powell with one that nipped back and bowled him.

Before his first Essex wicket, Cook had caught the outside of Brathwaite’s bat, the ball landing just short of Varun Chopra in the slips.

When Cook was rested after his initial six-over burst, he had the impressive figures of 1-14. He finished the day with 1-49 from 20 overs.

The slightly more experienced Paul Walter dismissed both the Barbadian Hope brothers either side of lunch, coincidentally both on 22.

The elder sibling, the uncapped Kyle, got an inside edge and played on after a free-hitting 30-ball innings. Shai Hope went when he was late on a straight delivery and was also bowled.

Brathwaite needed 38 balls to reach double-figures before he broke loose briefly against Walter, cutting the bowler for four and flicking a second boundary in the over off his legs.

Brathwaite reached his half-century on his 135th ball, when he pushed Matt Dixon square on the offside for a three.

Brathwaite was reprieved on 53 when Nick Browne failed to hold on to a snick above his head off Aaron Beard. Chase was also fortunate when Taylor whipped in a delivery that both bowler and wicketkeeper thought had taken the edge, but the appeal fell on deaf ears.

Brathwaite’s 155-ball marathon ended when he completely misread a delivery from Taylor, toppling forward as it thudded into his stumps.

Blackwood upped the tempo when he came in, and dented Cook’s figures with two boundaries in an over.

Chase hit a six off Aron Nijar, and Blackwood followed suit to bring up the pair’s 50 partnership in just 10 overs.

Chase went to 50 from 101 balls, followed soon after by Blackwood, who needed just 48 balls to reach the milestone, before the century stand came up in 19 overs.

Walter thought he had Blackwood on 58 when Cook dived at mid-off but a no ball was signalled.

However, after Taylor had ended Chase’s 138-ball innings, Blackwood departed having added just one run after his reprieve. Ryan ten Doeschate halted the run of five successive clean-bowleds by having the Jamaican lbw. Blackwood had faced 70 balls and hit eight fours and a six.

Jason Holder, the West Indians captain, did not last long before Matt Dixon found a faint edge and Chopra dived to his left at first slip, and Dan Lawrence caught and bowled Devendra Bishoo off the last ball of the day.