Pietersen excites Gooch

Graham Gooach challenged Kevin Pietersen to continue scoring runs for England

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Former England captain Graham Gooch welcomed the "exciting" appointment of Kevin Pietersen as the new skipper.

Pietersen was unveiled as Michael Vaughan's successor at Lord's today and will lead England into the fourth npower Test against South Africa starting on Thursday.

Gooch believes the selectors made the right call by handing the captaincy duties to Pietersen, who will lead the Test and one-day teams. Paul Collingwood resigned from the one-day captaincy soon after Vaughan gave up the Test job.

"I think it's a good decision," Gooch said. “It's a good idea unifying two formats of the game under one leader - the continuity will be there.

"Because of his performances he is one the players will respect.

"He's the logical choice and he's an exciting choice as well. It’s an exciting time for England.”

Gooch revealed that Pietersen’s responsibilities will not simply involve on-field matters, one of the reasons Vaughan stood down after five years in charge.

"It's a bigger job than just captaining the England cricket team,” Gooch added. "Effectively you are leading English cricket and the English game.

"Hopefully the responsibility will dawn on Kevin and his performances will improve as well.

"They've been pretty good so far and if they improve that should be good for English cricket.

“His number one job with England is not the captaincy – it’s scoring runs with England."

Former England coach David Lloyd is excited by the prospect of a Pietersen captaincy, believing it marks a significant sea change for the national side.

"It's a very brave selection,” he said. “In the past they have gone for tried and tested citizens. Pietersen might just take us somewhere we've never been before.

“He’s also a very tough character. Let's see where it's going to take us - it'll be a good ride.”