Fletcher concerned by Pietersen appointment

Updated 17.32 Wed Aug 06 2008
Keywords: andrew strauss, england v south africa fourth test, south africa, south africa cricket, duncan fletcher, kevin pietersen, england cricket, england, cricket, sport

Former England cricket coach Duncan Fletcher is worried Kevin Pietersen's batting could be affected now he has been appointed captain.

Pietersen was chosen when Michael Vaughan announced his retirement and he will be under scrutiny when the fourth Test against South Africa begins at the Oval.

"It could be very difficult if he is affected by the captaincy in a very big way" - Duncan Fletcher

Fletcher revealed he was surprised the England selectors chose Pietersen, who played his first Test in 2005.

Fletcher said: "He has not really been playing for England for long, and secondly he has no experience, which is crucial.

"You have to have some experience of captaincy but the most important reason which really concerns me is what effect the captaincy will have on his batting because they definitely need him very badly to perform as a batter.

"It could be very difficult if he is affected by the captaincy in a very big way."

Pietersen has been an important batsman in his short Test career, with an average of more than 50 runs per innings.

He clearly had an advantage over the rest of the captaincy candidates because he is an automatic choice for both Test matches and one-day internationals.

But Fletcher believes Andrew Strauss should have been chosen, even though he does not play for England's one-day team.

He said: "I would have put Andrew Strauss in as captain.

"I would have said for the moment 'put him in the one-day game'.

"It would be important then that they batted him down the order, as we did when he batted very well as a 'floating' batsman. We used him for a year like that, very successfully."

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