Impressive innings against Prime Minister's XI has Teganarine Chanderpaul on path to following father Shivnarine's footsteps

The son of former legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the spotlight has been on the youngster since he made his first-class debut at the age of 16 in 2013.

It's been a steady build since then but finally Tagenarine looks set to deliver on the promise.

The 26-year-old produced a superb century against the Prime Minister's XI at Manuka Oval on Thursday.

The performance sets the stage for a Test debut against Australia in Perth next Wednesday.

Carl Hooper played international cricket alongside Shivnarine during a decorated career and said Tagenarine has all the attributes to replicate the success of his famous father.

"He's got everything to play for," Hooper said. "He's got big boots to fill. The son of a legend, of a great West Indian player recently inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. He's come from good stock, I'm sure he's had a lot of good advice from his dad.

"The important thing is he wants to bat for a long period of time. You can see the sort of player he is, he doesn't look flustered. You can see the traits from the way his dad used to play."

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The Prime Minister's XI resumed at 9-297, a brief cameo from Mark Steketee and Todd Murphy steering the side to 322 before Steketee fell for 15.

From there Chanderpaul and West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite went to work to set the foundation for the visitor's innings.

The pair put on 94 before Brathwaite was dismissed for 47 shortly after the first intermission, with Nkrumah Bonner caught behind soon after for a duck.

Through all the chaos Chanderpaul stood tall and eventually passed 50. The left-hander battled away in challenging conditions as Steketee, Joel Paris and Michael Neser tested the West Indian batsmen.

Eventually the youngster was able to release the shackles early in the final session and accelerated to triple figures as the sun set.

"It was a very mature knock for such a young man," Brad Haddin said in Fox commentary. "It's just the start of his first-class career and hopefully his international career."

While he fell before passing 50, Brathwaite showed he will prove a handful for the Australian bowlers.

The captain has led admirably during a tough period for the West Indies, passing 50 at least once in five of his last six Tests.

Braithwaite is currently attempting to develop the next generation and Hooper backed the 29-year-old to lead the side to success in the future.

"Kraigg has done wonderfully well with the team," Hooper said. "He's led from the front, scored a lot of runs in the last 12 months.

"What better person to bat with for Tagenarine. Kraigg is the most experienced batter in the side and he's going to learn a lot from Kraigg."

Having played alongside the likes of Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Brian Lara, Hooper experienced the tail end of the West Indies golden era.

Since then, however, the side has struggled considerably and they're standing in international cricket reached a new low when they were defeated by Scotland and Ireland at the recent Twenty20 World Cup.

The steady decline has made for tough watching for Hooper but the former West Indies academy coach remains optimistic the future is bright.

"We need good leadership and good structures in place," Hooper said. "A lot of challenges have surfaced. Twenty20 cricket comes calling, players want to be financially secure at the end of their careers. Hopefully the board will address these challenges and push West Indies in the right direction.

"It's not a question of talent. Our problem is refining the talent and bringing it to its full potential. The only way to do that is to play a lot of Test cricket.

"Hopefully we can rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes and be a force to be reckoned with."

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