Its early days, but Pietersen seems just the captain England need

[Kartikey]

But yesterday' date=' on day 4 of the 3rd test, when Vaughan was out of the field, it was Strauss who was leading the side temporarily.[/quote'] Interesting, but he wont be captain. He hasnt been in good form for me, he's getting the starts but he's not converting them.

[Ram]

I dont think KP should be made captain. It will definitely affect his batting.

[Kartikey]

make Ryan Sidebottom captain...he really is brilliant.

[Kumar]

Monty for captain ... I say

:hysterical::hysterical: Thta would be something

[Mr. Wicket]

England are disintegrating. Smith must be laughing his head off.

[Kartikey]

oh boy...it wont be an easy start for the next captain against us. Rob Key is a good candidate, he should be in the team because he would score runs and he is a good leader.

[Dhondy]

England are disintegrating. Smith must be laughing his head off.

And why shouldn't he? That's the second English skipper who has fallen on the sword after one of his big hundreds. The first was Nasser Hussain. He must feel like Superman.

[Ram]

I am hoping they agree on some compromise candidate, like Strauss. Thats exactly what India did, when they appointed Kumble as captain after Dravid stepped down. I dont think burdening KP with captaincy is a smart move.

[Bumper]

This is terrific news to the cricketing world. Now England will have to appoint KP (who is the lone certainity & injury free player in both forms of the game) as captain, and that will kill their golden goose.

[Mr. Wicket]

And why shouldn't he? That's the second English skipper who has fallen on the sword after one of his big hundreds. The first was Nasser Hussain. He must feel like Superman.

Yup. Smith's big innings seem to bring calamity to England. This will shatter their Ashes campaign for next year. They'd have hoped to move in with Vaughan preparing for a glorious swansong and Pietersen being groomed to take over as a deputy, with a top class attack of Anderson, Jones, Flintoff, Panesar and Sidebottom. Instead their captain has gone, their middle order has gaping holes in it, Flintoff is being forced to carry the bowling on his shoulders, Panesar looks pedestrian and Sidebottom's looking like the county trundler he was originally damned as. Bring on the Aussies. :--D

[kumble_rocks]

I think it's a good idea to bring back Flnitoff as captain for both formats . If England can retain this dead weight Vaughn who averaged 22 in the last ten tests as a skipper, then I don't see any reason why Flintoff can't better this record with bat alone. His bowling should always be considered as a plus . People forget that this is the same guy who won them the Ashes few years ago with his inspirational leading from the front stewardship..

[Sachinism]

with Freddie, he's usually firing with either the bat or the ball, so its all good

[Dhondy]

One name. Simon Jones. Together, he and Flintoff can destroy most batting sides in the world.

[sharma]

so now both sa and eng will have saffers as captains lol

[Kartikey]

I think it's a good idea to bring back Flnitoff as captain for both formats . If England can retain this dead weight Vaughn who averaged 22 in the last ten tests as a skipper' date=' then I don't see any reason why [b']Flintoff can't better this record with bat alone. His bowling should always be considered as a plus . People forget that this is the same guy who won them the Ashes few years ago with his inspirational leading from the front stewardship..

Well with the bat, Flintoff has averaged 26 in his last 10 tests and 20 in his last 29 ODI's. This year in First Class cricket, he has averaged 22 with the bat. His bowling has been way better... His batting has fallen apart in the last 2 years. England are delighted to have him back, more as a bowling all-rounder though. If u go on the BBC Sport messageboard, most people are saying he should be batting quite low down because like i said his batting has fallen.

[Kartikey]

One name. Simon Jones. Together, he and Flintoff can destroy most batting sides in the world.

Yep, Simon Jones is awesome....but even if he returns, England will get thrashed 5-0 next year by our very good friends Punter, Symmo, Hayden etc.

[Kartikey]

Considering the history of England's selectors, dont be surprised if they choose Ian Bell out of the blue.

[Donny]

Wants to continue playing for England ?? You're joking, Michael. What world team could continue to carry a #3 batsman who isn't even ranked in the top 35 Test batsmen in the world ? Only India - carrying their #3 who's been in free fall for 2 years - comes close. This decision is as gutless as many of his innings when the team really needed him. Surely, the way to bow out was to announce he'd quit after the 4th. Test. Yes, it's a dead rubber but he could retire with some pride by taking the defeat on the chin and come at the Saffers with all guns blazing. Watch Smith's innings from the last Test, Michael - over & over. THAT'S what guts & determination looks like.

[Sachinism]

Pietersen confirmed as England captain after Vaughan and Collingwood's resignation Kevin Pietersen has been swiftly appointed as Michael Vaughan's successor as Test captain, while also taking the one-day leadership after Paul Collingwood handed in his notice yesterday following Vaughan's departure. Pietersen, one of the few members guaranteed to be a key player of both teams in the next few years, was the favourite to take on the joint role and his appointment was confirmed by the ECB at Lord's today. He will lead out the side for the fourth Test against South Africa this week. Vaughan's resignation on Sunday brought to an end a five-year tenure as the most successful England Test captain with 26 wins. Pietersen takes over with just one ODI as captain under his belt, having led the side against New Zealand at Lord's in June when Collingwood was serving a four-ODI suspension. Andrew Flintoff had taken the reins when Vaughan was injured for England's last Ashes campaign, the ill-fated 5-0 walloping by Australia in 2006-07. Ravi Bopara has been brought in to take Vaughan's spot as batsman for the fourth Test at The Oval, a dead rubber which begins on Thursday. Vaughan has chosen to take a break from cricket and with South Africa already having sealed the series, it will be a good opportunity for Bopara to try to shine. The selectors also named a 15-man squad for one-day series and Twenty20 against South Africa which includes the uncapped Nottinghamshire batsman Samit Patel and a recall for the Sussex wicketkeeper Matt Prior. Geoff Miller, the ECB's national selector, said: "In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain. Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room and I am sure that he will be looking to lead from the front and work closely with both the players and the coaching staff to bring England success in the future. "I would like to thank both Michael and Paul for their outstanding contributions to the leadership of the Test and the one-day teams. I am delighted that they will both continue to make themselves available for selection as players." Pietersen said: "I am very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England. It's a huge honour for me and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career. "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 Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring that the team is properly prepared and plays to its full potential starting on Thursday." Test squad Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen (capt), Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar. One-day squad Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen (capt), Owais Shah, Ian Bell, Samit Patel, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.

[Kumar]

good to see ambrose out.