Cricket: England ended 24 hours of deliberations today by officially unveiling Kevin Pietersen as their new captain of the Test and one-day sides at Lord's.
The colourful 28-year-old is the man chosen to succeed Michael Vaughan as England's 74th Test captain - and he also takes over the one-day side from Paul Collingwood.
Pietersen was always regarded as favourite for the two roles after Vaughan and Collingwood stood down from their positions yesterday.
The selectors wanted one man to captain all three international sides, rather than continue with the split captaincy method they have adopted over the last year.
The Hampshire batsman, who failed to secure the one-day captaincy when the selectors chose Collingwood a year ago, fought off candidates such as Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Kent captain Robert Key.
"I'm very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England," said Pietersen, who will lead England for the first time as Test captain in Thursday's final Test against South Africa at The Oval.
"It's a huge honour 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 npower Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring that the team are properly prepared and play to their full potential, starting on Thursday."
National selector Geoff Miller, who heads the selection panel that chose Pietersen, confirmed his role as an established member of all three international teams was a key factor.
Miller explained: "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 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."
KEVIN PIETERSEN FACTFILE:
1980: Born June 27 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the son of an Afrikaans father and English mother.
1997-98: Makes his first-class debut for Natal, seen as an off-spinning all-rounder capable of useful runs down the order.
2001: Joins Nottinghamshire with a view to qualifying as an England player of the future, having become frustrated with the quota selection system employed in his native South Africa. Scores 1,275 first-class runs at an average of 57.95 in his first season at Trent Bridge.
2002: Awarded his county cap.
2003: Averages more than 50 with the bat for the third season running but becomes disenchanted with his county employers and threatens to sue for unfair dismissal, even though relegated Nottinghamshire insist he has not been sacked.
2003-04: Emerges as the star performer in England A's otherwise disappointing tour of Malaysia and India.
2004: Surprises many by remaining a Nottinghamshire player and helping his team return to the top flight of the county championship at the first attempt.
September: Selected for the troubled one-day international tour of Zimbabwe even though his qualification period for eligibility is not complete until October.
October: Before travelling with England to Namibia and Zimbabwe, he finally quits Nottinghamshire and decides to join Hampshire for the 2005 season.
2005: January - Joins the England squad for their seven-match limited-overs series in his native South Africa, where the home crowds give him a predictably frosty reception.
January 30 - Scores 22 not out in match-winning, unbroken stand with his captain Michael Vaughan in the rain-reduced first fixture in Johannesburg.
February - Registers maiden, unbeaten century with 108 in the second match in Bloemfontein.
Scores further centuries during that series in East London and in the final match in Centurion. The 116 he scored in the final match of the series prompted the crowd, who had abused him throughout the series because of his South African origins, to give him a standing ovation. Chairman of selectors David Graveney claimed it was the "greatest one-day innings I have ever seen" as Pietersen collects the man-of-the-series award. Becomes the fastest man in history to
reach 500 one-day international runs.
May 2005: Overlooked for England Test series against Bangladesh despite public clamour for his inclusion, but named in England's 25-man development squad and included in the one-day squad for that summer.
June 19: Dynamic unbeaten 91 from 65 balls - including eight fours and four sixes - gives England a thrilling three-wicket victory over Australia in NatWest Series clash at Bristol. Wins another man-of-the-match award while captain Michael Vaughan hails him as "a genius".
July 12: Rescues England with a fine 74 to set a competitive total against Australia in the one-day decider for the NatWest Challenge, although the tourists win by eight wickets.
July 14: Named in England Test squad ahead of Graham Thorpe.
July 20: Named in starting XI for first Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's.
July 24: Scores 57 and 64 on debut, but is criticised for his poor performance in the field, particularly dropped catches, as Australia crush England by 239 runs.
August 7: Contributes 71 off 76 balls in the first innings as England win by two runs in the second Test at Edgbaston.
September 12: Scores a fantastic century to rescue England, who claim the Ashes with a draw in the final Test at The Oval. Rewarded for his summer performances with an ECB central contract.
December: Scores a century in the second Test against Pakistan in Faisalabad as the match finishes in a draw.
10: Contributes 56 off 39 deliveries as England win the first one-day international by 42 runs in Lahore but withdraws from tour because of rib injury.
2006: March - Fined 30% of his match fee for shaking his head and showing signs of dissent after a dismissal in the first Test against India. In the one-day series he finishes with an average of 58.20 and his 71 in the second ODI took him past 1,000 ODI runs, equalling Viv Richards' record of 21 innings to reach this total.
May: Becomes the first batsman since Graham Gooch in 1990 to score a century in three successive Test innings on English soil with 142 in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
June: Claims up the wicket of Pakistan's Kamran Akmal to claim his first wicket in Test cricket.
2007: January - Widely judged to be England's best player in the 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia, scoring 490 runs in five matches and averaging over 50. Was hit in the ribs by Glenn McGrath in the Commonwealth Bank ODI series which forces him to miss the rest of the series.
April: Scores 104 runs off 122 balls against Australia in the Super Eight stage of the World Cup. It was the first World Cup century by an Englishman since 1996, and the first ever against Australia in the tournament. In England's final match of the World Cup against the West Indies, Pietersen makes 100 from 91 balls.
May: Posts his highest score of 226 in the second Test against the West Indies at Headingley -
which was the highest Test score for England since Gooch scored 333 against India in 1990. Moves ahead of Everton Weekes and Richards to be the batsman with the second-highest run-total, behind Don Bradman, out of his first 25 Tests.
July 12: Blames his poor form in the ODI series against West Indies on fatigue.
July 23: Returns to form with a hundred in the first Test against India which he described as his best century, in very testing conditions.
September: Smashes 79 runs off 37 balls against Zimbabwe at the ICC World Twenty20.
December: Marries former Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor, passes 3,000 Test runs during the tour of Sri Lanka.
March: Hits his 11th Test century to rescue England in the Test against New Zealand in Napier.
June: Uses the innovative "switch hit" in the ODI series against New Zealand - smashing Scott Styris for two sixes - which causes debate in cricket. Pietersen defends the use of the shot and the MCC rule that it is legal.
Appointed temporary ODI captain after Paul Collingwood is suspended for four matches because of his team's slow over-rate in their one-wicket defeat by the Kiwis at the Oval. Pietersen says he is "humbled" by the appointment and "to captain your country is the ultimate honour in sport and I feel privileged and proud".
August 2: England lose Test series against South Africa.
August 3: Replaces Michael Vaughan as Test captain and also takes over as one-day skipper from Collingwood.