Do it my way and play without fear - Pietersen's recipe for bringing the good times back to England

Kevin Pietersen breezed into The Oval yesterday to prepare for his first Test as England captain and declared: "I’ll do it my way."

Pietersen, who becomes the 78th England Test captain and the 18th born outside Britain, will gamble on a bold, attacking team against South Africa today.

Stretching a point: Kevin Pietersen has issued a rallying cry

He has taken responsibility for asking the recalled Steve Harmison to take the new ball and promoting Andrew Flintoff back to No 6 in a rejigged batting line-up which sees Ian Bell at No 3 and Paul Collingwood at No 5.

It is a high-risk strategy from the new captain, who is seeking to restore the pride and passion in an England team that has lost focus as well as skipper Michael Vaughan.

He resigned when England went 2-0 down at Edgbaston last weekend with one
Test to play. It also piles pressure on Pietersen to deliver big runs himself.

The man who turned his back on South Africa to make his life in England eight years ago made it clear he is calling the shots as he announced ‘a positive, aggressive’ side to take on the country of his birth.

"The big thing is to play with confidence and to play without fear," said Pietersen.

"We need to have a real amount of pride and passion. The recipe I’ve always used for
success is to play my way all the time.

"Once you go over the white line you just have to express yourself and do whatever you need to be successful. Trust your instincts and do it - that’s what I want my lads to do."

Pietersen, 28, accepted that England had got into bad habits and clearly wants to  stamp his authority on the team.

"There has been a bit too much worrying about things," he said. "The more you fear and the more you think about stuff, the less clearsighted you will be."

The new skipper will hand Harmison the new ball after he had seemingly been consigned to history following the first Test defeat by New Zealand in Hamilton last winter.

"Steve is buzzing," he said. "I could see that little smile coming on to his face. I get on very well with him and I’m going to place trust and responsibility in the big man."