Moores has a year to find the magic touch of Fletcher

Time to get closer: Moores and Pietersen must prove they can work together for England

Peter Moores has another year to show that he really is a worthy successor to Duncan Fletcher as England coach and that he is more than a man who has the badges but few of the special qualities that made his predecessor the most influential figure in recent English cricket history.

Following the resignation of Michael Vaughan, the pressure has been raised on an England coach who has presided over Test series defeats by India, Sri Lanka and South Africa since succeeding Fletcher after the 2007 World Cup.

The revelation that Kevin Pietersen sought talks with Moores to 'clear the air' before he accepted the captaincy confirmed that senior England players have yet to strike up a rapport with the man who was so successful in guiding Sussex to their first county championship.

It is inconceivable that England would want to find a new coach as well as a new captain before next year's Ashes.

But Moores has to prove by the end of the all-important series against Australia that he was worthy of the automatic promotion from academy director which the ECB bestowed on him once it became clear that Fletcher's magical powers had waned after seven years in the job.

The key will be how Moores, who was a member of the selection panel which appointed the new skipper, and Pietersen gel after determining in talks on Sunday to work together for the sake of English cricket.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England team, suggested a change in approach on Monday, saying: 'Leadership is all about challenging people and I believe that, in Kevin and Peter, we have a partnership that challenges people. We don't want a comfort zone.'

Fletcher had exceptionally close working relationships with both Nasser Hussain and Vaughan when each was captain but it became clear that Vaughan was not so keen on Moores when the selection controversy over Darren Pattinson unravelled after the second Test debacle at Headingley.

Bone of contention: Pattinson's selection caused a rift between Vaughan and Moores

After Pattinson had proved to be a less than judicious choice as the swing bowler that England needed in Leeds, Vaughan, who wanted Simon Jones to play once Ryan Sidebottom had been ruled out, was heard to say in the middle at Headingley ahead of a day's play 'that will teach them just to go on numbers'.

His comment was a statement on Moores' apparent policy of studying a county cricketer's statistics before deciding on whether he can play for England rather than the Fletcher method of trying to seek out players with the temperament to prosper irrespective of their county fortunes, as he did successfully with both Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.

Vaughan, towards the end of his reign, also took to ringing Fletcher for advice rather than talking to Moores, a slight which must have undermined their relationship.

What Vaughan thinks, it is a safe bet that Pietersen thinks, too, as they had become very close by the time of Vaughan's shock departure.

It is important that Moores remains true to his beliefs and methods and does not become a chameleon for the sake of his survival.

There was evidence of that, by all accounts, in his feisty behaviour in the dressing room at Edgbaston, a side of Moores that sadly has never been seen in his public utterances since he inherited the big job.

Now the question is whether the England players will buy into and be inspired by such methods. Those players at The Oval this week will include Ravi Bopara for Vaughan and, probably, Steve Harmison for Ryan Sidebottom.

ENGLAND SQUADS

4TH TEST (The Oval): Pietersen (capt, Hants), Cook (Essex), Strauss (Middx), Bell (Warks), Collingwood (Durham), Flintoff (Lancs), Ambrose (wkt, Warks), Bopara (Essex), Broad (Notts), Sidebottom (Notts), Harmison (Durham), Anderson (Lancs), Panesar (Northants).

ONE-DAY SQUAD: Pietersen (capt), Cook, Wright (Sussex), Bell, Bopara, Shah (Middx), Collingwood, Flintoff, Prior (wkt, Sussex), Broad, Sidebottom, Swann (Notts), Anderson, Tremlett (Hants), Patel (Notts).

LIONS (v SA at Leicester, Aug 14): Key (capt, Kent), Kabir Ali (Worcs), Bopara, Denly (Kent), Jones (Worcs), Mascarenhas (Hants), Patel, Prior (wkt), Shah, Tremlett, Tredwell (Kent), Wright.

LIONS (v SA at Derby, Aug 16): Joyce (capt, Middx), Kabir Ali, Bresnan (Yorks), Mahmood (Lancs), Mascarenhas, Morgan (Middx), Patel, Pattinson (Notts), Prior (wkt), Shah, Trott (Warks), Wright.