Tagenarine Chanderpaul has earned high praise for his fighting spirit after making an eye-catching Test debut against Australia in Perth.

Chanderpaul posted scores of 51 and 45 in his side's 164-run loss in the first Test at Optus Stadium.

The son of West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul showed plenty of guts, recovering from a painful hit to the testicles early in the first innings to post his maiden Test half-century.

His 116-run opening stand with captain Kraigg Brathwaite in the second innings gave the West Indies a slither of hope of salvaging a draw, before Australia's attack took hold.

Chanderpaul looms as a key player in the day-night Test in Adelaide, starting Thursday.

West Indies allrounder Roston Chase said the 26-year-old's efforts in Perth had impressed the team.

"Obviously Australia is a tough place to play cricket, so to start the way he did shows a lot of character," Chase said.

"His dad had that same kind of characteristics about sticking in and fighting. That's where he got it from.

"If he can emulate what his dad did, he will be a legend in the game as well. I hope he continues in this vein and takes confidence from this first game."

Paceman Alzarri Joseph is tipped to bring more heat in Adelaide after struggling early in Perth.

Joseph failed to hit top speed in Australia's first innings, but he reached 148km/h during a devastating spell in the second dig in which he struck Marnus Labuschagne on the helmet.

"I spoke to Alzarri on the first morning, he wasn't feeling well," Chase said.

"I said he looked a bit down on pace, so I spoke to him. He said he was having a bit of a headache but was still trying to push through,

"I admire that about him. Then in the second innings he really got it through and it was exciting to see."

Doubts surround the availability of veteran paceman Kemar Roach (thigh), batsman Nkrumah Bonner (concussion) and allrounder Kyle Mayers (shoulder) for the second and final Test.