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Pietersen takes over as captain

Ted Corbett

LONDON: Kevin Pietersen was appointed England cricket captain and confirmed he would lead the side as belligerently as he batted. “It is the biggest challenge of my life,” he said, “and I am excited.”

Pietersen was unveiled at Lord’s as the successor to Michael Vaughan who had quit 24 hours earlier. His appointment was hardly a surprise. He has been front-runner ever since Vaughan made his emotional resignation.

Geoff Miller, the national selector, said Pietersen was the only choice although other names had been debated by his two co-selectors James Whittaker and Ashley Giles, with Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, sitting in the meeting. Morris said he had phoned Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board with Pietersen’s name and been given approval for the appointment.

The South African connection

Pietersen is the fourth South Africa-born cricketer to be England captain. Tony Greig was the first in 1976, Allan Lamb had the job for three Tests in the early 1990s when Graham Gooch was out and Andrew Strauss stood in for Vaughan in four Tests in the series against Pakistan in 2006.

All four had strong British family connections — Pietersen’s mother is English but he left South Africa to play for Nottinghamshire seven years ago because he feared that in the era of equality there would be no room for him in the South African side. He now plays for Hampshire.

Pietersen said he had seen what Vaughan had said about family pressures getting to him and consulted his wife, the former Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor, his mother and father who are in South Africa and his brothers, two of whom live near him in London.

“I woke up yesterday morning, turned on the TV and saw there was an announcement and then that I was front-runner for the captaincy,” he said. “I did not take long to decide to give it a go. After the formal approach I went to see the coach Peter Moores to sort out what we will do going forward. He likes to challenge players and I wanted to sort out how we could work together.”

Captaincy experience

He has led England’s one-day side once and been captain of Notts’ second team once.

Pietersen declined to say anything about long-term future plans, including the threat of bombs on the India tour this winter.

“I have been in the job for 24 hours and my main concern is to get through the next seven days which are going to be huge for me.”

”

It has been often said that Pietersen — aged 28, 6ft 5in, averaging 50.36, consort to many beautiful young women before he met his wife and resident in a posh area of Chelsea, is too self-centred to be a good captain.

His team for the fourth and final Test at the Oval will include the promising young Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara born in this country but of Indian parents who takes Vaughan’s place.

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