Interview by Oliver Brett

Australian Bennett King has been named as the new West Indies coach.

His three-year contract will put him in charge when West Indies host the World Cup for the first time in 2007.

Here he gives his first major interview since accepting the job.

When the West Indies were at their most successful, in the 1980s, they had a battery of fearsome fast bowlers. Is one of your challenges to try to recreate that?

Roberts, Holding, Croft and Garner are all sorely missed these days

Certainly for the West Indies to be a force again in Test match cricket we've got to find a way they can get 20 Test match wickets.

Express bowlers who are about 6ft 10in are very hard to come by and don't come around all that often. But the fast bowlers within the region now do have a lot to offer.

They don't necessarily get the same bounce because they are not as tall but they have speed up their sleeve and with a little bit of intuition will be able to swing the ball quite prodigiously as well.

A lot of people compare you to Australia's coach, John Buchanan, saying you both take a methodical, analytical approach to coaching. Do you go along with that?

I'm actually quite different to John, although being under him when he was at Queensland when I was his assistant coach instilled in me the importance of having good plans in place.

But I have a different personality to John and am a different man manager to him. I'm louder, I'm probably blunter and I'm younger.

To be honest, I consider myself a friend of his and we have always had a rapport. He was one of the first to congratulate me when the appointment came on board.

You are the first foreigner to be named West Indies coach and, significantly, you did not play first-class cricket. Is that an area of concern?

Buchanan (second left) and King (second right) are close friends

I've had a lot of criticism over the years with regard to that but you find the proof in the athletes that you work with. They're the people I take solace in, they're the ones who give you the information whether you can do a good job not.

I'm a quick learner, I'm very creative, very astute and innovative and I take those things with me when I do my coaching.

I've learnt from the past, I do a lot of reading and take a lot of advice from people who have played Test cricket.

Is it a good thing that you are going to have the final say on selection matters?

A lot of the performance on the field is directed back to the coach so if they haven't got a say on team selection their hands can be tied.

Certainly the West Indies did a lot of research with regard to people in coaching positions.

They went to soccer, baseball and basketball clubs. Within those elements the coaches seem to have a right in saying who's going to play.

You turned down this job in 2003. Why take it now?

The Windies have really struggled recently in Test cricket

In 2003 it was a totally different scenario between the West Indies Cricket Board and myself, for personal reasons that need to be kept within the West Indies and myself.

This time they were looking for a particular style of coach who could improve their cricket and I'm looking forward immensely to my three years with them.

Do you think Brian Lara should remain as captain of West Indies?

I've watched him perform his captaincy duties on the field and I think he's quite intuitive. He's instinctive and has a lot to offer.

There are decisions that will be made later in the piece but at the moment I don't see any need for change.