Events beyond the game tried and failed to upstage a fascinating opening day's play at the Wanderers. But police escorts, the desire to have players of colour in the South African team and the extremely late arrival of one of the participants for the first Test between these two countries on South African soil were largely forgotten by the close, when the tourists had reached 249 for seven.
The West Indies captain Brian Lara was out for 11, one of three victims with the new ball for Shaun Pollock, but he was largely content about the course of the day's events.
"It was a pretty satisfying performance," Lara said. "We were 41 for three after the first hour, so to score 200 odd for four in the rest of the day was a good team effort."
Application was sadly lacking in the top order. Clayton Lambert was caught behind off Pollock, flashing at a very wide delivery, Philo Wallace revealed glaring deficiencies in technique to be bowled between bat and pad and Lara inside-edged a ball on to his stumps, as he went back when he should have been forward. But the middle order rallied, with the Guyanese left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul a calming influence. Chanderpaul made 74 from 210 balls with 10 boundaries before falling lbw to one of the few good deliveries from Allan Donald.
Donald bowled two spells of four overs with the new ball and retired to lick his wounds with figures of none for 50. He was mauled in particular by Carl Hooper, who hit him remorselessly off both back and front foot before swinging once too often and edging hard to first slip.
Early in his innings Hooper did the splits as he stretched forward too far to Jacques Kallis. His injured groin may prevent him bowling his off-spinners today and if that is the case it will be no bad thing that, against all local logic, Lara opted to leave out a fourth pace bowler and include the leg spinner Rawl Lewis in his starting line-up.
Lewis left the West Indies A tour of India on Wednesday night and arrived in Johannesburg from Bombay just three hours before the start of play. Whether he bowled a few down the aisle in Business Class is unknown, but clearly Lara has much faith in Lewis. He was batting by the end of the day in the company of Nixon McLean and, if the last three wickets can eke out another 50 runs against the second new ball, the tourists will have built a sturdy position.
Meanwhile, the racial mix of the home side continues to be a problem. Paul Adams was left out of South Africa's team and a statement was issued by Ali Bacher, the managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa.
"I am disappointed that no players of colour have been selected to represent South Africa in this historic Test. The issue will be fully debated at the next meeting of the board on December 5th. I am confident that a clear selection policy, with parameters that the national selection panel must adhere to, will emerge from that meeting."
