West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite insists he was not surprised by the determined, obdurate display of opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul, on his debut against Australia, on Wednesday.

Facing a mammoth 598 for 4 declared, the West Indies ended day 2 at 74 without loss after facing 25 overs.  Chanderpaul, the 25-year-old son of legendary West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, made a solid 47 from 73 balls while Brathwaite himself made a more patient 18 from 79.

Chanderpaul was called into the squad last month as a replacement for previous opening batsman John Campbell, who is currently serving a doping violation suspension.  A match-up against top-ranked Australia certainly isn’t the easiest debut for the young batsman, his captain Brathwaite was, however, not worried.

“I wasn’t surprised.  I’ve known him for a while.  I’ve played against him and he has always had fight always takes his time to bat and bats for long periods,” Brathwaite said at the end of the days play.

“I know he is a fighter, so it isn’t surprising.  I just look forward to a lot from him playing for West Indies.  It was good to see but we need to continue,” he added.

Chanderpaul previously stood out for the team last week against the Prime Ministers XI where he recorded a century in the four-day affair.

Sunshine Girls Captain Jhaniele Fowler was named the Suncorp Super Netball Player of the Year for the fifth year in a row at the Australian Netball Awards Ceremony on Thursday.

The 33-year-old goal shooter led all players 1668.5 total points, 929 goals and 55 offensive rebounds on her way to helping the West Coast Fever to second place in the league table with 32 points from their twelve games, eight behind champions the Melbourne Vixens.

Fowler was also named to the Suncorp Super Netball Team of the Year. The team also included Fowler's Sunshine Girls teammates Shamera Sterling at Goal Keeper and Latanya Wilson at Goal Defence. Sterling and Wilson, both members of the Adelaide Thunderbirds, finished first and third in interceptions with 52 and 31, respectively. Sterling was also fourth in total points with 1177.5.

Lionel Messi says Diego Maradona would be "super happy" after he overtook the late Argentina great as his country's most capped player at a World Cup.

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Messi played a full part in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Poland that secured Argentina top spot in Group C and a last-16 tie with Australia.

Messi, who had a penalty saved by Wojciech Szczesny with the game level, was making his 22nd appearance in the competition – one more than his former coach Maradona.

"I only learned about this record recently," Messi said when told about his latest achievement. "It's a pleasure to be able to continue achieving these kinds of records.

"I think Diego would be super happy for me because he's always showed me a lot of affection. He was always happy when things went well for me."

Messi could yet take another record from Maradona, as the 63 chances he has created at World Cups in recorded history is second only to his compatriot, who created 67.

The 35-year-old's blank against Poland came on the back of netting in the shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia and 2-0 win over Mexico in Argentina's opening two games in Qatar.

The seven shots he amassed against Poland is his highest tally without scoring in a match for Argentina since a 1-1 draw with Iceland at the 2018 World Cup (11).

Second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez ensured Argentina secured the win they needed, though, and they are now strong favourites to overcome Australia.

"After the first goal, everything went our way," said Messi, who was part of the Argentina squad that finished runners-up to Germany at the 2014 World Cup.

"We started doing again what we had been trying to do since the start of the World Cup, but which we hadn't been able to achieve for various reasons.

"Having been able to do it today, it gives us confidence for the future."

Messi will be looking to score in the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time on Saturday, with all eight of his previous goals coming in the group stage.

He has had 23 efforts without finding the net beyond the first round, though he did assist in the last 16 in each of the 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith made double centuries as Australia piled on the runs against West Indies at Perth Stadium, achieving a feat last witnessed over a decade ago.

Not since Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke plundered double tons against India in January 2012 had any pair of batters made 200-plus scores in the same innings of a Test match.

This first Test saw Australia follow up their opening-day dominance with more commanding batting to reach 598-4 on Thursday, before West Indies rallied to reach 74-0 at stumps, with debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul closing in on a half-century.

Labuschagne had been 154no overnight, and Smith was with him on 59, and they went on to post 204 and 200no respectively, sharing in a third-wicket stand of 251 runs. It was a second Test double century for Labuschagne, and a fourth for Smith.

Australia declared when Travis Head was dismissed on 99, edging the 95th ball of his innings into his stumps to give West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite a second wicket, ending a 196-run alliance with Smith.

In reply, Chanderpaul, son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, powered to 47no as Brathwaite battled to 18no, offering hope the tourists may be able to show sufficient defiance to still take something from this match, the first of two in the series.

Smith joins Bradman

Smith's century, which became a double, was his 29th ton in Tests, moving him level with the great Don Bradman on the all-time list. He and Bradman share fourth place among Australia century-makers, behind Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30).

Chanderpaul a chip off the old block

Facing the full assault of Australia's pace attack, Chanderpaul did not always look comfortable against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but he found a way to survive to the close.

Dad Shivnarine made 11,867 Test runs for West Indies, so Tagenarine is just 11,820 behind now. More relevantly, perhaps, Shivnarine made 62 in his first Test innings, against England in Georgetown in 1994. After this strong start, West Indies will hope his son can go significantly past that score on Friday.

Australia forward Mitchell Duke said "bring on whoever" when asked about taking on Lionel Messi or Robert Lewandowski in the World Cup round of 16.

The Socceroos progressed to the knockout stage of a World Cup for only the second time in their history, 16 years on from first doing so in 2006, by beating Denmark 1-0 on Wednesday.

Australia's victory at Al Janoub Stadium was required, with Tunisia stunning a much-changed France side in Group D's other game.

Messi's Argentina or Lewandowski's Poland are the most likely candidates to face Australia on Saturday, though Saudi Arabia could yet sneak through as Group C winners.

But whoever Australia have to face, Duke said they will be ready.

"Bring on whoever, I feel like we could take on anyone right now," he told reporters. "That's the belief, we go out with that mentality.

"Don't write us off. You can see there's something special building here, there's lot to be excited about."

Duke, who scored Australia's winner against Tunisia on matchday two, wants to make more history in Qatar, with the 31-year-old adding: "It doesn't really feel like it's sunk in quite yet.

"That's what some of the boys were saying when they walked in. 'Do we realise what we've just done?'

"Playing a part in history right now, we've got two clean sheets, six points out of a group with two world class teams. It's unbelievable, a lot of people would have written us off but the belief in our team is unbelievable.

"Everyone wrote us off, we've finished second in the group, it's massive and we're not done yet – we want to make history."

Australia captain Mat Ryan added that the team's unity is what has pushed them to successive World Cup wins for the first time.

"The pride of the whole group, we have such a great team – youngsters, leaders," Ryan said.

"The togetherness is our backbone, our identity and the foundation. The world keeps giving us reasons to be proud of ourselves.

"It's great to see we’re an ambitious group. We're enjoying the victory but the comments are already coming out – we want to keep going, keep having victories like this and go as deep as we can, make the nation as proud as we can.

"Everything's a collective, from front to back, the commitment from everyone. The ones who haven't got on yet, the ones who have, the ones who haven't played as much as the others, the mentality and attitude has been top class and that's what we strive for. Everyone sets the standards high."

Graham Arnold suggested Australia could have a "new golden generation" on their hands after they qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup.

The Socceroos' 1-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday meant they finished second in Group D behind France, despite the defending champions losing 1-0 to Tunisia.

Mathew Leckie's goal on the hour-mark was enough for Australia, and head coach Arnold was beaming with pride at his post-match press conference.

"I'm just so proud of the players," he said. "The work ethic, their commitment, their fight, the way they played.

"Denmark are a very good team, they're top 10 in the world for a reason - defensively, I thought we were outstanding."

After their victory against Tunisia, Australia's win meant they achieved consecutive victories at a World Cup for the first time, while they progressed from the group stages for just the second time in six tournament appearances (also 2006).

Thousands of fans gathered at Federation Square in Melbourne to watch the game and celebrate the win, and Arnold believes it shows the impact of football in the country.

"I truly believe the Socceroos are a team that unites the nation," he added. "When the Cricket World Cup is on you don't see Federation Square like that.

"I'm so proud we've been able to put smiles on people's faces. Maybe we should be talking about a new golden generation now, after the golden generation of 2006 who got four points [at the World Cup in Germany], we got six."

Goalscorer Leckie admitted he had "no idea" that Tunisia had scored against France moments before he did against Denmark, meaning Australia had briefly been on course to head out themselves. 

Speaking to reporters, the 31-year-old described his thinking for the goal, saying: "We won the ball, I had one more man to beat, I wanted to cut inside but the defender went that way too, so just in the moment I went left again and swung the left boot.

"For the celebration I didn't really know what to do. I got slapped in the head [by team-mates and substitutes] about 100 times. It shows how much of a team we are. Everyone's here for each other, it's so nice to be a part of this team."

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand did not want to speak too much about his team's performance, preferring to wait until he had a chance to process it, but did admit: "We did not reach our level, no doubt.

"We did not produce the quality we can. It is my responsibility that when you come to the World Cup that you reach your best level and we didn't do that."

The Danes had 68.8 per cent possession and created 13 chances, but hit the target just three times at Al Janoub Stadium as they crashed out of the tournament.

"We haven't played with the tempo and rhythm," Hjulmand added. "We started well, but our structures went out of the match. There was too little quality.

"We shouldn't have gone in with such emotion, but should have shown more quality. Our quality was good against France, but in the two other games it was not good enough."

Australia advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup after securing a hard-fought 1-0 win over Denmark on Wednesday.

Mathew Leckie's winning goal at Al Janoub Stadium meant Tunisia - who drew with France - joined Denmark in exiting the tournament as Graham Arnold's side went through as Group D runners-up.

The Socceroos qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup for only a second time from six tournament appearances, having only previously done so in 2006, and will now play the winners of Group C.

It is home time for Kasper Hjulmand's men though, who disappointed after reaching the Euro 2020 semi-finals, and are now winless in their last six World Cup games (D4 L2), since beating Peru in their first game of the 2018 tournament.

Marnus Labuschagne struck an unbeaten 154 to help Australia reach 293-2 on day one of their first Test with West Indies on Wednesday.

West Indies struggled to find answers at Optus Stadium in Perth, taking only the wickets of openers David Warner (5) and Usman Khawaja (65).

Australia, who have lost just one of their past eight Test series, were in trouble early on as Warner's lean streak in the longest format continued when he chopped on from Jayden Seales' wide delivery.

The home side were 9-1 when Labuschagne arrived at the crease, but he and Khawaja set about advancing their side to 72-1 by lunch and then kicked on.

Kyle Mayers gave West Indies a much-needed breakthrough when delivering a perfect ball that caught the edge of Khawaja's bat and was gathered by Joshua Da Silva.

The Khawaja-Labuschagne partnership may have ended at 142 runs, but the latter was not finished there as he struck 16 fours and a six en route to another huge score.

Steve Smith also chipped in with an unbeaten 59 while producing a 142-run stand of his own with Labuschagne, which they will look to build on when play resumes on Thursday.

Magical Marnus

Australia are undefeated in their past 11 Test series against West Indies, winning 10 of those and each of the past eight, and they already look great value to extend that streak.

Labuschagne was undoubtedly the star of the day with his eighth Test ton and he will now look to build on his unbeaten 154, which is the fourth-highest tally of his career.

Weak Warner

West Indies have won their past two Test series and they started well in Perth when sending Warner packing in the fourth over.

That was the Australia opener's fourth successive single figure dismissal in a home Test innings, and he will be grateful that Labuschagne in particular was able to bail him out.

West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes maintaining discipline will be crucial for the unit if they are to pose any type of challenge to Australia in the upcoming series.

Despite a relatively solid year in the red ball format, the Windies will start as massive underdogs against the top-ranked Australians on Sunday.  In addition to the fact that West Indies has not secured a win against Australia at home since 1993 the team has won just games in the last 8 Test series.

Having managed solid wins against England and Bangladesh in their last two series, however, Brathwaite will be hoping to spring a surprise.  For that, keeping focus will be crucial.

“We have 10 days of hard Test cricket to play.  We know Australia are a very, very good team, especially at home.  So, the main thing for us is to focus on our discipline,” Brathwaite of the media on Tuesday.

“When we are batting, we want to bat 100 overs plus, when we are bowling, we are looking to get 20 wickets.  So that obviously is to help the team win a game.  We know Australia is a superior team.  We have to play 10 days of hard cricket that’s the focus.”

The West Indies will play Australia in two Test matches.  The first will bowl off in Perth on December 4^th, followed by a trip to Adelaide from December 7^th-12^th.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes Tagenarine Chanderpaul can make an immediate impact on his Test debut against Australia in Perth.

The 26-year-old son of Windies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul will make his bow in the five-day game on Wednesday, and Brathwaite suggests he could soon be setting the standards.

Chanderpaul made a century and a fifty against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra as West Indies prepared for this series, leaving no doubt he will open the innings as the two-Test series begins.

"I think it was great to see. He'll do extremely well at this higher level," Brathwaite said. "He has a lot of patience, he has good defence, and in Test cricket that's the basics you want, and from there you can always branch off and play a few shots.

"He was an example for us in the first game, and if we take a leaf out of his book for this series I think we'll be in good stead as batsmen.

"I didn't open with [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul, but I played with him. Obviously he was a great, so it's not shocking he had a son that's playing. I think 'Tage' will do a fantastic job and let's hope he could even do greater things, like his father would have done."

Australia's men have not lost any of their last 11 Test series against West Indies (W10, D1) and have won their last eight in succession, last suffering a defeat in the format in 1993 against the Caribbean opposition.

Brathwaite appreciates the scale of the challenge this time, saying: "We know Australia is a superior team. We've got to play 10 days of hard cricket, that is the main focus."

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has taken a standout 14 wickets at an average of 15.5 at Perth Stadium in Tests against India and New Zealand, and now he gets a third outing at the venue.

Lyon told cricket.com.au: "I'm pretty excited to be honest. There's something about the ground. I used to enjoy bowling at the WACA as well, where you're able to use the breeze to your advantage and get some drift. Drift and bounce are the big things over here, and they are my biggest weapons."

Recent form provides hope for Windies

While Australia have dominated this rivalry of late, the current year has been a strong one for West Indies in Tests, with the team winning series against England and Bangladesh without losing a match.

The successive series wins followed a run that saw them win only one of their eight series prior (D2, L5), and West Indies have not won three in succession since a run of success from August 2012 to March 2013.

Cummins closing in

Home captain Pat Cummins (199) is one away from becoming the 19th player to take 200 wickets for Australia in men's Tests. This will be his 44th Test, and if he takes that wicket in Perth it will mean Cummins becomes the fifth-fastest player to reach 200 for Australia (Clarrie Grimmett – 36 matches, Dennis Lillee – 38, Stuart MacGill – 41, Shane Warne – 42).

Rasmus Kristensen is ready for a tough tussle with Australia, while Denmark team-mate Jesper Lindstrom is confident Kasper Hjulmand's side will go through to the last 16.

Denmark's defeat to France on Saturday, combined with Australia's victory over Tunisia, has left the Euro 2020 semi-finalists in need of a victory to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stage of the World Cup in Qatar.

With France's progress from Group D already assured, all three of the other sides could clinch second place, which is occupied by Australia heading into the final matchday.

Wednesday's match at Al Janoub Stadium will be the second meeting between Australia and Denmark at the World Cup, following a 1-1 draw in the group stage in 2018, and Kristensen knows it will be a battle.

"For sure we're up for it," the Leeds United defender told reporters. "If fighting is what it takes we're going to do it.

"I know a few [Australia] players. We've seen the first game and we're going to watch a lot of them in the next few days.

"I think the expectations were the last game would always be decisive."

Lindstrom, who almost put Denmark ahead against France before Kylian Mbappe's second goal sealed a 2-1 victory for Les Bleus, has faith his team will get the job done.

"We have confidence, everyone has belief. We have that mentality. We will do our best," said the Eintracht Frankfurt attacker, who believes Denmark played at a much higher level against France than in their opening draw with Tunisia.

"We are really disappointed but we have to look how we can develop, how we can use the situations we created," he added.

"The second half was better than the first but we had 20 minutes where we controlled the game, we scored the goal and we had big chances."

Denmark could qualify for the knockout stage at back-to-back World Cup tournaments for a second time, previously doing so in 1998 and 2002.

The Danes have only failed to qualify from the group stage in one of their previous five appearances at the tournament, while Australia have only made it to the last 16 once in their history back in 2006.

However, should France beat Tunisia as expected in the other Group D's game on Wednesday, then a point would be enough for Australia to go through.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Australia – Mitchell Duke

Mitchell Duke scored Australia's winner against Tunisia, heading home brilliantly. The 31-year-old has scored five goals in his past eight starts for his country, with four of these goals being headers.

Denmark – Jesper Lindstrom

Handed a start against France, Lindstrom felt he had done enough to impress Hjulmand, though he rued been unable to score, with Hugo Lloris making a fine save from the forward's strike.

Denmark have only scored once so far in Qatar, and Lindstrom will be hoping for more luck in front of goal against Australia.

PREDICTION

Australia have lost eight of their 11 World Cup games against European sides (W1 D2), failing to keep a clean sheet in all of those matches, while they have won just one of their four games versus Denmark, winning a friendly match 1-0 in June 2010.

Opta make Denmark – ranked 28 places above Australia by FIFA – as the strong favourites, giving them a 63.2 per cent chance of securing a crucial victory.

The likelihood of a draw is 22 per cent, leaving Australia's chances of coming out on top at 14.8 per cent.

Cricket fans in Victoria were treated to the full Chris Gayle experience at a T20 exhibition between Endeavour Hills and Queensland team Western Districts at Shepley Oval in Dandenong on Sunday.

Gayle was one of several headliners to line up for Endeavour Hills with former Pakistan international Shoaib Malik and ex-Sri Lankan star Tillakaratne Dilshan.

The West Indies legend rolled back the years, batting the entire 20 overs on his way to an unbeaten 95 runs from 65 balls, with eight sixes to guide Endeavour Hills to a total of 4-167.

It was a continuation from the night before, as Gayle revealed he was out on the town in Melbourne on Saturday night with Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt.

However, the festivities will be short-lived as the 43-year-old revealed he will only be in Australia for two games.

“It’s good to be here,” he told Australian newspaper The Age.

“I’m here for a good time, not a long time. I’m just here for two games and then that’s it.”

Gayle and some of his teammates’ involvement in the T20 exhibitions for Endeavour Hills has been shrouded in controversy after Victorian Police announced they charged a 35-year-old with 18 alleged theft and deception offences in relation to $250,000 stolen from a company with ties to the event.

Coach Graham Arnold aims to "put smiles on Australian faces" on Wednesday by emulating the great Socceroos team of 2006 and advancing to the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Australia head into their final Group D game knowing a win against Denmark will be enough to see them reach the round of 16 for just the second time in the nation's history. A draw would also be enough unless Tunisia beat defending champions France.

Arnold was an assistant to Guus Hiddink 16 years ago and he understands the size of the prize on offer.

He said: "That's the whole purpose. My whole goal is to put smiles on Australian faces. It's not about me, it's about the game in Australia.

"If you're not Australian and you don't know, football is probably the fourth or fifth-main sport. To leave a legacy is huge and in 2006, what that generation did... these guys [the current squad] grew up watching them and they were their inspiration.

"Even now at dinner, this generation talk about matching the achievements of 2006 but there is so much more to do."

Midfielder Mathew Leckie added: "It's huge for the sport. I don't know how much it will impact young kids but when they watch it on television and see how big the World Cup is, they may decide to be a footballer rather than, say, an AFL player.

"The World Cup and the Socceroos bring the country together. We can create something special but we haven't done anything yet, without a result on Wednesday it means nothing."

Denmark also have plenty to play for at Al Janoub, a win would likely see them progress at Australia's expense and Arnold is certainly not getting ahead of himself.

"They are a strong team, ranked 10 in the world, but the focus is on ourselves and making sure the players recover well and are ready to go," he said.

"They have been a top team throughout Europe for a long time. We can only do so much worrying about them, the focus has to be on ourselves. They can play two systems, 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3, so we have to be ready for them tactically."

Although a draw may be enough, the Socceroos will play to win the game, said Arnold, who joked throughout his press conference with 2006 goalkeeper-turned journalist Mark Schwarzer in the room.

"One thing Hiddink did was go for the win," Arnold added. "That's what we are going to do. I've never coached to play for a draw. In 2006, we got one win and a draw, we want to go for it and get two wins.

"It's not often you get to go to a World Cup, and I've been saying this to the boys, enjoy the ride. We've gone through some difficult periods over the last four years, through the pandemic, playing four games out of 20 at home...

"It's all about the belief, the energy in the players. I feel relaxed and ready."

Steve Waugh has backed Australia to enjoy a winning run in the final months of the year as they build up confidence ahead of the Ashes, where he is fearful of a returning Jofra Archer.

Three consecutive victories in ODIs against England have put Australia in a better spot heading into a series of Tests against the West Indies and South Africa either side of the new year.

The Ashes then follows in June, with the World Cup in India to close out the year, and former Australia captain Waugh is confident about his side's chances.

"We've got a good cricket side, there's no doubt about that. We got a really good bowling attack, so they're capable of winning matches," he told Stats Perform.

"I think we'll beat West Indies pretty convincingly. Then we've got three Tests against South Africa, an emerging test side with a really good bowling attack. But I think they're batting is not quite up to standard.

"I think Australia will win most Test matches. But then they've got some hard Test matches coming up overseas. It's a long difficult period. It's 12 months of non-stop cricket for Australia."

Waugh highlighted the importance in getting wins on the board now to build up momentum for the Ashes, where Australia are looking to retain the urn.

"The Ashes is a big tournament for Australian cricket that's coming up in about less than 12 months now. We're looking towards that," he added.

"But in the meantime, they've West Indies and South Africa. I think will win those series, then we've got India away, which is really hard, and then the Ashes.

"The Ashes is hard to win. It's a tough assignment, but the guys are capable of winning.

"It's a long way off, and it might come down to which sides have fewer injuries to key players. If England have Jofra Archer playing, they're going to have a chance of winning."

Waugh also sprung to the defence of captain Pat Cummins, who has been outspoken on climate change and has come under the spotlight for his stance.

"He's realising that captaincy can be a difficult assignment. One minute people love you, the next minute they don't like you and your opinions matter," he explained.

"He's bought into the climate change issues and sponsorship. And yes, there's a few issues that have been around the side. I guess he's realised that maybe he's got more power than he thought he has.

"Whatever he says carries a lot of weight. And sometimes you've gotta be pretty careful what you say. But I think he's done a very good job as a captain on the field.

"He's learning as he goes along, which is only natural. He's pretty young for a captain."

Steve Waugh is an ambassador for the Laureus Challenge 2022, presented by Sierra Space.

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor believes Justin Langer's acrimonious spat with Cricket Australia could damage the team's international brand, calling for both to be wary of their words.

Langer, who departed the top job in February, accused sources within his camp of being "cowards" over leaking stories to the media on the Back Chat podcast.

That prompted criticism from Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley, while Langer subsequently denied a rift with players and bowler Mitchell Starc defended his relationship with the former coach.

Now Taylor, who captained the Test team between 1994 and 1999, has called for consideration from all parties, arguing any feud is likely to reflect poorly on the Australian game as a whole.

"If he's got a cross to bear, he wants to let people know, so he comes out with it," Taylor told Nine's Sports Sunday.

"The only thing I would say to Justin, or to players, or to administrators in general, is I'd like to see everyone just think a little bit more about Australian cricket.

"I don't mean Cricket Australia, I mean Australian cricket [itself], before they make comment. It's not great for the brand.

"Let's have a bit more positivity around Australian cricket. Less thought about individual brands, and a bit more about the team brand or the national brand."