EAST LONDON, South. Africa, CMC:

NEW WEST Indies head coach John Dyson supervised his first training session with the team yesterday, a day after it arrived in South Africa.

Dyson, the former Australia batsman and Sri Lanka coach, joined the team on Monday, and he met the players and the rest of the management team yesterday.

He immediately got into his job, when the team held a light training session at Buffalo Park in East London, where the West Indies will play their tour opener, a Twenty20 benefit match against a Makhaya Ntini XI on Friday.

Very happy

"I'm quite happy with the way things went in the session," Dyson said. "The guys are fantastic and we had a great time. For me it's just a chance to get to know the players and take it from there.

"I believe we will do very well here in South Africa. The aim is to be very competitive and come away with wins and keep improving.

"The long-term goal is to move up the rankings in the ICC table in both forms of the game. We have players with ability and I know we can move up."

Dyson replaces compatriot Bennett King, who resigned following West Indies' exit from the World Cup - staged in the Caribbean - at the Super Eight stage. The West Indies contest two Twenty20 Internationals, three Tests, and five One-day Internationals in South Africa.