Tagenarine Chanderpaul puts hand up for West Indies Test debut with stunning century

The son of legendary West Indian cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Tagerine showed he has the skills to replicate his father in the Prime Minister's XI fixture at Manuka Oval.

The 26-year-old eventually reached 119 before he was dismissed on the final ball of the day.

The wicket brought an end to a patient innings that saw Chanderpaul lay the foundation against the new ball, survive a torrid stretch early in the second session before breaking the shackles and accelerating the run rate to reach triple figures.

The West Indies finished the day at 7-234, a deficit of 88 at the midway point of the four-day match.

Chanderpaul's performance has the youngster firmly in the frame to make his Test debut in next week's opening clash against Australia in Perth.

While many youngsters feel the pressure of following in their parent's footsteps, Tagerine said he hopes to establish his own name as a West Indies star.

"I just try and be myself," Chanderpaul said. "I can't replicate him so I just try and be myself

"They're big boots to fill but I try and be myself. I can't be him, I can only be myself, so I just try and be me."

The Prime Minister's XI started the second day at 9-297, Mark Steketee and Todd Murphy producing some fireworks to guide the side to 322 before Steketee was dismissed.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

From there, the contest played out similarly to Wednesday, the West Indies openers Chanderpaul and Kraigg Brathwaite laying the foundation much in the same way Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw did.

The pair put on 94 before Brathwaite was dismissed for 47, with Nkrumah Bonner and Devon Thomas falling soon after.

Thomas' wicket was the first of three for off-spinner Todd Murphy.

The 22-year-old was the pick of the bowlers and finished with 3-27 in an outstanding outing against an international opposition.

With Nathan Lyon now 35 and approaching the end of his career, Australian selectors have begun to plan for the future and Murphy is clearly in their sights.

The youngster, however, is remaining patient and not looking too far ahead of himself.

"That's still a long way away," Murphy said. "I'm just trying to build some confidence at first-class cricket, I haven't played a hell of a lot of it.

"I'll just keep learning about my own game and keep adding some confidence to it and the other stuff will take care of itself."

The match came to life in the final hour, with the Prime Minister's XI taking the new ball with almost 50 minutes left before the scheduled close of play.

That saw Michael Neser and Joel Paris return to the attack as the hosts looked to clean up the West Indies tail.

While conditions were challenging and the ball was hooping around in the cool Canberra air, the tourists largely stood tall.

Sitting 5-198 when the new ball was taken, the West Indies contained the damage to reach 7-238 at stumps in a testing final hour.

Ultimately, the dismissal of Chanderpaul left the Prime Minister's XI full of confidence and they will look to clean up the tail early on Friday.

"Chanderpaul batted really well out there but to get him with the final ball of the day probably puts it a little bit in our favour," Murphy said.

"We'll have to bowl well in the morning, then try set a total for them to chase in the fourth innings."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: