Watch captain Pietersen at Lord's

Date released: 5 August 2008

Captain on deck: Kevin Pietersen poses for the cameras at Lord's Newly crowned England Test and one-day captain, Kevin Pietersen is coming back to Lord's (where he was unveiled as captain) on 31 August - to take on South Africa.

The South Africa side come to Lord's in the last of five one-day internationals.

England will be hoping their new skipper can marshall them to victory, to save something from the Proteas' tour of England which has, so far, been all conquering, for the tourists at least.

Captain on deck

Pietersen was officially named as England's new Test and one-day captain, following the surprise resignation of Michael Vaughan (Test captain) and Paul Collingwood (one day captain) on Tuesday 4 August.

In an ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board) press conference, at Lord's 'The Home of Cricket' Pietersen said of his appointment:

"I'm thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England.

Loving Lord's: Pietersen scores another century at 'HQ' "It's a huge honour and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career."

Pietersen's appointment has been widely welcomed by fellow cricketers and the media, keen to give the new man a go in the job at least.

The big-hitting batsman certainly enjoys himself at Lord's - his name is on the Test batting Honours Board no fewer than four times, thanks to his four centuries here. The most recent of those was an impressive 152 against South Africa.

Some doubts remain about Pietersen's captaincy experience. He has played 40 Tests for England but has never captained the Test side before.

Pietersen captained the England one-day side for the first time on 28 June, at Lord's. A match England lost to New Zealand, losing the series 3-1.

Familiar faces

Sunday 31 August will see Pietersen return to Lord's as one-day captain with the country of his birth, South Africa the opponents this time.

Given the history of bad blood between Pietersen and his opposite number, South Africa captain Graeme Smith, it should be thrilling from the coin toss onwards!