Ideally he would like some more five-wicket hauls and match-winning performances but what Mervyn Dillon wants most is for the West Indies cricket team to be world beaters again.

Whatever is required of him in this regard, he is willing to do - with the ball or even the bat.

Therefore, as he prepares for an testing tour of South Africa at year-end, the regional side's strike bowler has been busily working out in the gym and - surprise, surprise - spending lots of time in batting practice.

"The captain (Brian Lara) gave me a stern talk and everybody seems to think I am very capable (with batting) - I also think so - but I haven't been showing that recently. It's something I need to take a lot more seriously because the opinion is that I'm capable of hanging in with a 30 or 40 - even 50s ever so often.

"Like I said, my main goal is to help the team and if I can come in at No.8 or No.9 and stick around with a No.5 or 6, it will definitely help.

"I'm doing a lot of work on my batting and hopefully it will bear fruits in South Africa and come next year," said Dillon who was in Bermuda to play for Lara's team in Sunday's match at the National Sports Centre.

The 29-year-old, who sees himself as a genuine all-rounder in the future, has also been bulking up with weights to improve his stamina on the upcoming South Africa tour.

"Our fitness trainer Ronald Rogers has given us some programmes and I took a couple weeks off and I went straight to the gym after that. The time may seem long but our holiday is over already.

"I had to get in (the gym) as soon as I could. I couldn't afford to waste much time because it's something I needed; something I have spoken to the authorities about before.

"It was a blessing to get this time off. I had a few offers to go to England which I wasn't interested in because I really needed this time to do some serious work to help me with my strength which will help me perform better on the field," explained a more muscular Dillon.

All this is part of the Trinidad & Tobago native's plan to be in the vanguard of the West Indies' quest for revenge when they visit the Springboks in winter.

"The last time we played in South Africa it wasn't very good. We played them at home and I had what I thought was a very good season then (2001).

"Playing in South Africa is always going to be an advantage for me as a fast bowler because you get a bit more out of the wickets there. I'm looking forward to that.

"We don't have good memories in South Africa because the last time we played there we lost 5-0 and I'm looking forward to avenging that series (defeat)," he noted, referring to the team's disastrous 1998-99 tour.

He will also be looking to put the recent home tours versus Australia and Sri Lanka behind him, following lean returns which resulted in him losing his place in the starting XI.

"I haven't been quite satisfied with the returns that I have gotten. This season wasn't a particularly good one for me and it's something I have thought about. I've seen the best of players have bad tours and it happens from time to time.

"If I'm going to be in the team as consistently as I have been in the past then I definitely have to perform. I would like to take some more five-wicket hauls, some more match-winning performances and that will help with my goals for the team," said the right-arm bowler with 123 Test wickets.

Given the youthful and talented make-up of the West Indies team, he is confident they are well on their way to rising in the world's Test and One-Day rankings. Cohesion is key, he stressed.

"Once we play as a team, as we have been doing recently, the sky is the limit for us."