When Andy Flower led Zimbabwe on their first Test tour to England in 2000, the visiting side froze in every sense. The series began on May 18, nine days earlier than a Test summer had begun before, and as a chill wind whipped across Lord's, Zimbabwe were three wickets down within half an hour and 83 all out soon after.

Nine years on and Flower, in his new guise as England team director, will hope that an even earlier start can catch West Indies cold today. For much of history, an English Test summer would not begin until the blossom had fallen from the trees. Since 2000, however, a May start has been necessary because of the television requirement for seven Tests per summer. The World Twenty20 next month has pushed this year's first Test forward even earlier - five days before the previous earliest Test start, when Sri Lanka toured in 2006.

It has not proved popular with spectators: some 7,500 of the 20,000 public tickets are available on the gate for today's play, with 5,000 seats unsold for tomorrow and almost 3,000 for the third and fourth days.

Before 2000, the earliest start for a Test summer was May 27, which twice proved to be a bad idea. On May 27, 1909, so much rain fell on Birmingham that the toss for the first Test was not held until 5pm. Bad light then prevented any play until ten past six.

Fifty-six years later, the authorities tried again. “Seldom has a Test been contested in such cold cheerless weather,” the 1966 Wisden reported. It was so cold that coffee was served to the players during the drinks interval.

Cold should not be such a problem at Lord's this week, nor rain. There is a chance of light drizzle tomorrow and showers on Sunday but the general forecast is for cloudy skies and temperatures in the high teens. The 16-1 being offered by Ladbrokes on snow falling is as tempting as betting on Kevin Pietersen scoring a hundred and dedicating it to Peter Moores.

The odds on a draw, however, are as short as 6-4 because of recent history. The past six Tests at Lord's have been drawn, although Mick Hunt, the head groundsman, was keen yesterday that his pitches should avoid the blame.

“England put down so many catches against Sri Lanka [in 2006],” he said. “They were overcautious against Pakistan. It never stopped raining against India and they couldn't bowl out South Africa in two days. Our pitch at Lord's has as much pace as anywhere and challenges the batsmen.”

Hunt, who has been at Lord's for 40 years, said that he was unconcerned about the early start. “Everything's getting earlier now,” he said. “It used to be that the first game at Lord's was the last Thursday in April, now it's the second Thursday. We started the pre-season rolling a bit earlier but we have been fortunate that the weather hasn't hurt our preparation. Against South Africa [last year] it was awful. It never stopped raining.”

A little rain, as there was last week, is beneficial, however. “Rainwater is better than tap water,” Hunt said. “It's softer and goes in more even. It helps the pitch to roll out better.”

Hunt is happy with the pitch that he has prepared for the Test. “It's looking good,” he said. “There's a nice colour to it, a tinge of green as is natural in May, and it's firm. If the weather is cloudy and mild, the ball will swing all over the place and I'd be disappointed if there wasn't movement off the seam. I'd still have a bat if I won the toss, though.”

As ever, no one really knows what will happen with the weather or the pitch and that is the fascination of Test cricket. “We're in the lap of the gods,” Hunt said. “We can't be lucky with the weather the whole time.”