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."

Wales squandered a 21-point second-half lead to lose 39-34 to Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in a defeat that will further increase the pressure on head coach Wayne Pivac.

Jac Morgan scored two tries to help put Wales in a commanding position after 52 minutes, but Lachlan Lonergan completed a stunning late comeback to snap Australia's three-match losing run and inflict a ninth loss in 12 Tests on Pivac's side.

Morgan added to his double against Georgia by dotting down inside 10 minutes against Australia, either side of two penalties for Ben Donaldson, before Taulupe Faletau powered through a couple of Australian tackles to slide into the corner for a try on his 100th Test.

Gareth Anscombe added to that tally with a couple of penalties as part of a 10-point haul in the first half, though Folau Fainga'a touched down prior to half-time to reduce Wales' lead to two points.

Jake Gordon and Tom Robertson was sin-binned either side of half-time and Australia were made to pay when Morgan found the chalk from a driving maul, and the hosts were further ahead when Rio Dyer found the corner after a well-worked move.

Mark Nawaqanitawase revived Australia's hopes by twice crossing over and Wales themselves lost their discipline as Justin Tipuric and Ryan Elias were yellow carded, with the referee also awarding a penalty try after the latter deliberately collapsed a driving maul. 

Wales still had a two-point lead to protect with a minute remaining, but Lonergan walked in a dramatic last-gasp try following yet more good play from Nawaqanitawase, allowing Noah Lolesio to add the game-sealing extras.

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons admits to some disappointment with a draw in the final four-day tour game against Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval but believes it has been adequate preparation ahead of the two-Test series against Australia, which begins next week.

Chasing a total of 309 runs for victory, on the final day, a win seemed possible when the team entered the final break at 221 for 5, needing another 88 runs to claim victory.

 The West Indies had a less-than-ideal start to the final session, however, and found themselves reduced to 273 for 8, following the dismissals of Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, and then Kemar Roach, in fairly quick succession.

 Raymon Reifer and Joshua Da Silva then combined to help West Indies fight for the draw, playing out the final eight overs to finish on 277 for 8.

“I’m not happy with the results, we should have won it,” Simmons said following the final ball.

“We have a few misplaced wickets in the middle, while we were controlling the game, so that was a disappointment, but at the end of the day the way how the guys fought is always greatly encouraging,” he added.

With the players getting plenty of opportunities to bat and bowl in pressure situations, Simmons was though satisfied with what the tour match provided, ahead of a difficult series.

“The two games have been very good for us, mind you, flattish wickets, but the bowlers got the overs in their legs and the batsmen got their time at the crease so that was good for us.”

Graham Arnold might be targeted by better-known clubs if Australia reach the World Cup second round, but the coach has revealed his heart is set on rejuvenating NAC Breda.

Now aged 59, Arnold was a prolific striker with the Dutch club in the 1990s and has been disheartened to see NAC struggle in recent seasons.

Previously mainstays of the top flight, NAC sit 15th in the second tier, known as the Eerste Divisie, after winning just five of 16 games this term.

They are currently bossed by former Leeds United defender Robert Molenaar, with ex-Netherlands striker Pierre van Hooijdonk recently appointed to a technical role.

Arnold told Voetbal International: "I would love to return to NAC. The negative energy has to get out and the culture has to change. It's about winning again. Hopefully I can try it someday.

"I just want to bring the club back to the Eredivisie. You know, I was there in 2018 by invitation. I stayed at the bar in the second half. It sucked.

"I just couldn't take it any more. Breda deserves a club at the highest level. NAC should play against Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. Not against Jong FC Utrecht.

"I still follow every game from Australia and every week I get angry when I see the result."

He added: "My heart is with NAC. It's my club and Breda is my city."

Arnold, a former striker for the Australia national team, has spent almost all his coaching career in his home country, having spells in charge of Sydney FC, Northern Spirit and Central Coast Mariners.

His Australia team were 1-0 winners against Tunisia on Saturday, pepping up hopes of reaching the last 16 following a 4-1 defeat to France in their opening game.

The Socceroos complete their group-stage campaign when they tackle Denmark on Wednesday.

The four-day tour match between the West Indies and the Australia Prime Minister’s XI ended in a draw after Saturday’s exciting final day at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

The tourists, who began the final day on 35-0 chasing a further 274 runs for victory, ended up 277-8 when the game was called to an end.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul completed an excellent match by top-scoring with 56, to go with his first innings 119, and was well supported by half centuries from Joshua Da Silva (54 not out) and Devon Thomas (55).

Pacer Mark Steketee took three wickets for the President’s XI while Ashton Agar and Michael Neser, who have both represented Australia in Tests, took two wickets each.

Scores: PM’s XI 322 and 221-4 declared, West Indies 235 and 277-8.

The West Indies will now turn their attention to the first test against the Aussies starting Wednesday in Perth at 9:20pm Jamaica Time (10:20pm ECT).

Coach Graham Arnold wants his Australia players to swiftly forget their 1-0 World Cup win over Tunisia and turn their attention to securing qualification for the knockout stage against Denmark.

Mitchell Duke scored the only goal, glancing home Craig Goodwin's deflected cross in the 23rd minute, before the Socceroos withstood some concerted Tunisia pressure to secure their first win at a World Cup in 12 years and first clean sheet since 1974.

The win moves Australia on to three points and with renewed hope of advancing out of Group D. Next up on Wednesday is a clash with the Danes and that has already become the focus of Arnold's attention.

Asked about his approach to that game, he said: "We've got to see what the result is tonight [between France and Denmark] but nothing will change, we’ll focus on ourselves and getting ourselves right.

"I am very proud but we've achieved nothing. We can talk after about one win and that it hasn't been done for 12 years and all that stuff.

"We are here to go as far as we can go. I don't want the players sitting up all night looking at social media, we need to recover well and get ready for Denmark."

The goal was a special moment for Duke and he celebrated by making a J sign with his fingers to son Jaxson, who was watching on from the stands. Television images showed his son replying in kind.

Duke said: "I spoke to my son and told him I was going to score – you have to have that belief that you are going to score in every match. I told my son that I was going to share that moment with him."

The 31-year-old, who plays in Japan with second division side Fagiano Okayama, was reunited with Jaxson and daughter Chloe at the start of November and admitted it was difficult being apart from his family.

"Definitely, when the final whistle went and I was interviewed by TV, I was trying to hold back the tears," he added. "I have been on my own a lot over the last couple of years and there has been a lot of sacrifice. It's the best feeling in the world."

Tunisia must now beat defending champions France on Wednesday and hope other results go their way if they are to go through.

Coach Jalel Kadri bemoaned his side's lack of cutting edge but insisted all was not lost.

He said: "During the first half, we did not perform the way we wanted to, Australia led us into playing a style we did not like.

"They dominated the game, created one chance and scored and unfortunately we could not equalise. We changed tactics two or three times in the second half and created four or five chances but we were not clinical enough. They were very efficient in converting their chance.

"The World Cup has a surprise for everyone, even the larger teams have been beaten by the underdogs. We were not expecting to lose [to Australia] but we have one game to go and we will play our hearts out."

A first-half header from Mitch Duke was enough to see off Tunisia and ignite Australia's hopes of progressing to the World Cup knockout stages in a 1-0 victory.

Duke converted Craig Goodwin's left-wing cross in the 23rd minute with the Socceroos having to withstand some late pressure to secure a win that means they head into their final Group D clash with Denmark with all to play for.

Tunisia have a solitary point from their two games and will have to beat defending champions France on Wednesday and hope other results go their way.

Australia shaded a frantic opening but could not profit from a series of crosses into the Tunisia box.

Delivering the ball from wide areas was clearly a key part of the Australia strategy and it paid dividends midway through the first half. Duke started the move with a deft touch in midfield before racing into the box to cleverly glance Goodwin’s deflected cross past Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen.

Tunisia grew as an attacking force as the first half progressed and could have levelled twice before the break.

After 41 minutes, robust play from Issam Jebali saw him pick out Mohamed Drager at the far post only for defender Harry Souttar to race across to block his goalbound shot.

The tireless Jebali then turned up on the right but his low centre was fired wide by captain Youssef Msakni.

Tunisia dominated possession in the second half but their desperation to find an equaliser almost saw them undone again after 71 minutes - substitute Jamie Maclaren escaping down the left before delivering a low cross that was inches in front of the sliding Mathew Leckie.

A second goal was not required in the end as Australia's resolute backline - in which Souttar was outstanding - did enough to keep Tunisia out and register just the Socceroos' second clean sheet in 18 World Cup matches.

With just a week left to go vor the Australia vs West Indies Test series concerns have been raised regarding excessively poor tickets sales ahead of the match.

The world number one-ranked Australia will host the Windies in two-matches.  The first of the games will be held at Optus Stadium in Perth, beginning on Wednesday 30^th.

The public’s interest in the series, however, remains lacklustre to date.  According to reports, just hundreds of tickets have been sold to members of the public, so var, well below the stadium’s capacity of the 60,000.  There now are concerns the series could set a record low vor Test mathes between the teams.

Australia batsman Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne does not believe the low turnout is an overall lack of interest but believes there may be some fatigue in the fanbase.

 The country is fresh off a huge T20 World Cup on home soil and went straight into a three-game ODI series against England.

England Test captain Ben Stokes hopes to have "one of the superstars of the international game" Jofra Archer fit and firing for the Ashes.

Archer has not played on the international stage since March 2021 due to injury, but returned to action for the England Lions against England this week.

The luckless paceman bowled nine overs in his first match for 16 months, not taking a wicket but rattling Zak Crawley on the helmet with a rapid bouncer in Abu Dhabi.

England will attempt to regain the Ashes from Australia on home soil next year and Stokes wants hostile quick Archer to play his part.

The all-rounder told Sky Sports: "It's been great to see him out here when we joined up with the Lions.

"It's great to see him back running with the ball in his hand. He's one of the superstars of the international game and it's great to see him running back in, bowling fast and it's really good to have him back around the group as well.

"I think he's just really excited to be back. He's obviously had a long time off with injury and as exciting as it is we've got to be careful not to rush him back as we don't want to see Jofra Archer on the sidelines for this amount of [time] again.

"That's the plan, hopefully we can have Jofra fit and ready especially for The Ashes.

"That's something that we're looking at for Jof and it would be great to have him available for selection for that."

Leg-spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed could become the youngest man to play a Test for England against Pakistan next month after he was added to the squad this week.

Stokes is excited by the potential the 18-year-old, who also played for the Lions in a drawn three-day match this week, possesses.

He said: "We've seen him as one of those very rare talents. To have someone at such a young age be so noticeable as a cricketer with the way that he bowls and the way that he bats.

"We saw it as a very good opportunity to get him into the squad, get him around the group, get him into the environment.

"He's a fantastic talent, he loves cricket, he just spends all his time shadow-batting in his room. He absolutely loves it.

"I'm really excited to have him into the squad, get him round the group and see what he's got."

Matt Renshaw’s unbeaten day three hundred means the West Indies have been set a target of 309 runs for victory in the four-day pink-ball tour game against Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval.  

The tourists ended day three 35 without loss at stumps after 16 overs, with Kraigg Brathwaite on 19 and first innings centurion Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 15 needing a further 274 runs on Saturday.

Earlier, day three started with the West Indians resuming their first innings at 234 for 7. They added just one run from a no ball before their innings ended in the second over of the day.

Paceman Mark Steketee (3-33) trapped Alzarri Joseph lbw and two balls later had Jayden Seales well caught at second slip by Peter Handscomb. With Raymon Reifer unable to bat, West Indies ended on 235 for 9.

The PM's XI then reached 221-4 off 70 overs before captain Josh Inglis’ declaration set the Windies 309 to win.

The innings was declared four balls after Renshaw reached his 17^th first-class ton, scoring 101 not out off 218 balls.

The 26-year-old, who played the most recent of his 11 Tests in 2018, added 145 for the third wicket with Peter Handscomb, after the Windies had reduced the home team to 13 for 2.

Renshaw, who also top-scored with 81 in the first innings, hit nine fours in the unbeaten knock.

Handscomb, who scored 55 in the first innings, was bowled five minutes before the dinner break by spinner Kraigg Brathwaite for 75.