Kevin Pietersen Named as New England Captain
You already know that Michael Vaughan stepped down as England’s test captain following England’s test series defeat against South Africa being confirmed. Paul Collingwood also quit as England’s ODI captain on the same day. Now, England selectors have also made a quick move to name Kevin Pietersen as the new captain of England’s test and ODI team. In fact, he is one of those players who have been playing for England in all forms of cricket regularly.
As part of his first assignment as England’s test captain, Pietersen will have to lead England in the fourth and final test of the series against South Africa, starting on Thursday. However, he has the experience of leading England in one ODI match when he captained England against New Zealand this year at Lord’s in the absence of regular skipper Paul Collingwood who was serving a four-match ban imposed by ICC.
Born and grown up in South Africa, Kevin Pietersen moved to England to play County Cricket in 2000, four years before his ODI debut for England against Zimbabwe. His excellent form in ODI cricket earned him a call for England’s 2005 Ashes side, the historic England squad that recaptured Ashes after 16 years. The hard-hitter batsman scored his first test century in the final test of the series, playing an excellent innings of 158 en route to help England save the test and eventually seal the series.
Kevin Pietersen feels excited and thrilled as the new captain of England team. However, he is aware of the challenge to replace the players like Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood. When asked if the newly-found captaincy would affect his batting form, Kevin Pietersen said that he hoped it would not affect the way he plays. Pietersen admitted that he had learned a lot from Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood while playing under them.
Well, England team is not in good condition at this moment with losing two of the first three tests in the ongoing series against South Africa. Thus, England has already lost the test series with the fourth test remaining. So, it is clear that the fourth test is nothing but a mere formality for South Africa, but for England, and of course for Kevin Pietersen, the fourth test at Oval has something to achieve.
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