SYDNEY, Australia, CMC - Armed with intimate knowledge of an Australia team he helped to construct, new West Indies coach Bennett King will be engaging in a battle of strategy with counterpart and Australian coach, John Buchanan, when the VB Triangular Limited Overs series bowls off Friday. King, who copped the top job in the West Indies team last October, is familiar with Buchanan's tactics and methods after succeeding him at the Queensland cricket team and is expected to match wits with his Australian counterpart. "I'm really looking forward to the challenge," King said yesterday. "Obviously, I've got an understanding of the Australian side and I've been employed to make the West Indies better." He added: "But I would say the main thing I bring to the table is ways of setting up games, rather than loads of information on Australia." The VB Series is the 40 year-old King's first international coaching assignment, but he hopes his knowledge of Buchanan, the Australian players and local conditions can benefit the West Indies. He has however preferred to divert attention from the battle of minds between Buchanan and himself and has chosen rather to point to his unit that he feels is sharpened and ready for the world champions Australia. King, who along with his Australian assistant coach David Moore conducted an intense camp in Barbados prior to the team's departure, says the team had responded well to the camp and looked in good shape. "Everyone has embraced the coaching work that we've been doing," he said. "I've worked them hard. I wouldn't say I've flogged them, but I think they certainly know what is expected of them now." He added: "Some of them are reasonably fit. They're not triathletes, but their fitness for cricket at the moment is OK." Despite his relatively short time in charge of the regional side, King said he had found no difficulty with the squad thus far and that they had had an encouraging start. "I'm enjoying the personalities of the group, the people from different regions of the Caribbean," King noted. "There's been a lot of innuendos over the years about trouble between players, but I haven't seen it. He added: "We've been implementing new technology, too, which has also been well accepted. Overall, it's been a positive start." Reprinted from the Jamaicaobserver.com