Pietersen Named As England Captain Following Vaughan’s Resignation

August 4, 2008 by CLDsport

Kevin Pietersen Confirmed as England Captain Kevin Pieterson has been confirmed as England captain following the surprise resignation of Michael Vaughan on Sunday.

Vaughan - England’s most successful test captain - announced his decision following England’s defeat to South Africa at Edgbaston, which resulted in them being 2-0 down in the series with just one match remaining.

England have won 26 tests out of 51 under Vaughan’s leadership (just under 51%) and is the highest win rate of any former captain. He famously led the team to Ashes victory in 2005 for the first time in 18 years.

However, the 31-year-old has struggled with his batting in recent months, having only scored 1 century and 1 half-century in his last 17 England Test innings.

The Yorkshire batsman took over the helm in 2003 after Nasser Hussain resigned - coincidentally during a test series with South Africa.

Kevin Pietersen has now been named as his successor as Test captain, and will also replace Paul Collingwood as one-day captain after he also quit yesterday.

Despite concerns from some former England players that Pietersen is too self-obsessed and arrogant to be a successful captain, he was the unanimous choice of selectors Geoff Miller, Ashley Giles, James Whitaker, and Peter Moores.

Pietersen said of his appointment;

“I’m very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England.”

“I have learned a great deal about leadership from playing under both Michael and Paul and fully appreciate the level of responsibility that comes with the job of captaining your country.

“My immediate priority will be this week’s fourth npower Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring that the team are properly prepared and play to their full potential, starting on Thursday.”

Pietersen has captained England once already in a recent ODI against New Zealand, and was on the losing side.

His first real test will begin on Thursday with the final Test match with the South Africans. Vaughan’s place in the squad has been filled by Ravi Bopara of Essex, after the former captain opted not to play in this match. There are no other changes.

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