Former wicketkeeper Ray Jennings was appointed South Africa's caretaker coach until May 2005 on Friday.
Jennings, 50, succeeds Eric Simons, who resigned earlier on Friday in the wake of South Africa's recent poor run of results.
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"The job will be exciting, but daunting to start off with," Jennings, who played most of his 159 first-class matches in the 1970s and 80s while South Africa was isolated from international cricket because of apartheid, told Reuters.
"The tour to India will be really scary, but that's also where the excitement lies - to see if I can get the job done. It's one hell of a challenge first up."
Jennings has never been to India
"I have enough experience around me, I trust that experience and I will be leaning on it," Jennings said.
The United Cricket board (UCB) said Jennings had been appointed until May 2005. He will be in charge for the tour to India, the home series against England from December to February, a visit by Zimbabwe in February and March, and the tour to the West Indies from March to May next year.
Jennings' tenure as national coach could end at that point.
"The process of finding a full-time replacement (for Simons) will begin in the near future," the UCB said in a statement.
The UCB's media manager, Gerald de Kock, told reporters the UCB would advertise locally and internationally for a national coach, and that Jennings would be part of that process.
Jennings has tasted success with provincial team Easterns, who he led to the Supersport Series first-class championship in 2002-03, and with South Africa A.
"We are fortunate to have a man of Ray's experience to call on," the statement quoted UCB chief executive Gerald Majola as saying.
"He was a fine player and has proved with Easterns and in his brief time with the South Africa A team that he is a top class coach.
Speculation that Omar Henry would be sacked as selection convenor came to nought, at least as far as the tour to India was concerned.
"His (Henry's) continuation in that position is conditional on him submitting a report in which he sets out his selection plan through to the World Cup in 2007," Majola was quoted as saying.
"We have now received that report. It will be discussed by the board of Cricket SA (Pty) Ltd after which his future as convener will be discussed with him.
"Omar will remain in the position for now, and will convene the panel to select the squad to tour India."
South Africa have won one of their last five test matches, drawing two, and have lost 13 of their last 15 one-day internationals.
Overall with Simons as coach, South Africa won 14 of 24 tests and 33 of 62 one-day internationals.