New England Captain Has Backing From Pietersen

New England cricket captain Andrew Strauss believes that he will have the backing

of Kevin Pietersen when he takes charge of the side in the West Indies in two weeks time.

Strauss has inherited the captaincy with English cricket in turmoil following the sudden departure of Pietersen and coach Peter Moores.

Moores was sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board yesterday after Pietersen complained that his relationship with the former Sussex coach had broken down irretrevievably.

Pietersen only escaped a similar fate by tendering his resignation once he realised that he did not have the support of some of his senior players.

Pietersen has promised to continue playing for England and Strauss has already spoken to his star batsman in an attempt to smooth the path for the Caribbean tour.

"I've spoken to Kevin a couple of times already," said Strauss. "He's in a very tough situation, he's got some stuff to deal with at the moment.

"I know him well, he's a good mate. He said he will support me and I believe he will.

"I'm sure he has his own side of the story. I believe he did what he felt was in the best interest of the England team. I've got no problems with him as a player.

"It is vitally important we can get the best out of him as a player and I believe I can work with him.

"KP is a very strong-willed person and that was one of his greatest strengths as England captain.

"He had a vision for English cricket and he backed himself to do that and wasn't bothered about upsetting people along the way.

"I do feel sympathy for him. I think he felt he was doing what was right for the team.

"However you don't know how many felt the same way as he did but that's what his view was.

England have yet to appoint a caretaker coach to replace Moores for the West Indies tour or to indicate who they might be looking at as a permanent successor. But batting coach Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe batsman, is expected take over as a stop-gap for the Caribbean trip.

"No-one wanted to come to this situation but we have to move on from here," Strauss said.

"When a full-time coach is selected it is important I sit down and discuss what my views are of the team going forward and I've got some strong views on that.

"The key is to have a united front and support each other. My experience of the dressing room is that they have always that got on well and I don't think anything has happened to change that.

"We've got strong characters and you want that. My job is to manage them and make we're sure going in the right direction together. With the characters in the team I believe strongly we can do that."

by: Sarfaraz Khan

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