The ego has landed - KP is brash but he will be a winner as England captain

Both the venue and the opponents could not have been better scripted for the first Test performance in a leading role of a man who loves nothing better than hogging the limelight.

Kevin Pietersen will be in his element when he steps out as England captain to face South Africa at The Oval on Thursday.

Even this most confident of men could not have believed that one day he would be lining up as England captain against his old bete noire Graeme Smith in a Test at the ground where he first announced himself as a very special talent when playing the innings that won the Ashes.

Walking tall: Pietersen passes a poster of his predecessor Michael Vaughan at Lord's

To Pietersen and his strict Afrikaner father, Jannie, this will be the ultimate vindication of their decision eight years ago for the boy to turn his back on South Africa after Dr Ali Bacher, the most powerful figure in their country’s cricket, had been rude to them.

What has happened since they flew from their home in Durban to Johannesburg to ask Bacher whether Pietersen had a future in South African cricket would defy the most imaginative fiction writer.

Bacher, they felt, did not show them proper courtesy. Father and son looked at each other in his office and nodded. Then Jannie said to the third youngest of his four boys: ‘You’re going to England.’

Some will be horrified that Pietersen is the new England captain, even though a precedent was set more than 30 years ago when Tony Greig landed the job.

The fact that Pietersen has an English mother, an English wife, has served his qualification period and has committed himself to England for life will not sway opinions.

He is just too brash, too money-oriented, too celebrity-conscious and just too ‘un-English’ for some tastes. They see an ambitious man who speaks his mind and has not been afraid to ruffle feathers during his ascent from club cricket with Cannock to international cricket, via a fractious spell with Nottinghamshire, where he felt his drive and ambition were not matched by those around him. Indeed, the South Africans call him ‘The Ego’.

Well, those doubters will have to get used to the idea because Pietersen will not change now. He has risen to the top his way and will return to The Oval on Thursday, probably more nervous than he will admit, determined to prove he has just as much right to be England captain as the next Englishman.

And, even though he swerved the issue yesterday, do not be surprised if he still wants to play in next year’s Indian Premier League, too.

The Kevin Pietersen I know is a polite and engaging individual, keen on manners and punctuality almost to the point of obsession. When I worked on his autobiography he arrived first for every appointment. That comes from his father, as does a work ethic which makes him practise longer and harder than any other England player.

Lord of the manor: Pietersen poses outside the Lord's pavillion following the announcement.

I believe he will be an outstanding captain. He has a sharp cricket brain suited to leadership and a presence that all good captains have. He will be tactically astute and will lead by example; he will also be a better man manager than some fear. At times, he seems a man apart from his colleagues, but he will have no problems in the
dressing room.

Pietersen has become close to Michael Vaughan and will welcome the former captain back into the side as soon as he is scoring runs for Yorkshire; he is also on very good terms with Paul Collingwood.

Now he has replaced both of them as England’s captain in all forms of the game and it was interesting to see what a big thing Pietersen made of the messages and texts he received from his team-mates when they heard he was to be their new leader.

‘You judge yourself on what your team-mates think of you,’ said Pietersen. ‘That’s the most important thing, what the boys are saying about you.’ Deep down he just wants to be accepted as one of ‘us’.

Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison, so close they are virtually inseparable, are not his natural bosom buddies, but it would be a surprise if either failed to support him.

His batting is the worry. Only Graham Gooch among England captains of the last 20 years became a better batsman with the demands of leadership on his shoulders.

Pietersen vowed on Monday to play in his same, attacking way and it is to be hoped he is true to his word. He must never be affected by criticism if he gets out in the seemingly irresponsible way in which he was dismissed for 94 at Edgbaston because he will come off spectacularly playing his way far more often than he will fail.

Yet, if he can retain his flair but add just a tad more responsibility with captaincy then we really will have the complete batsman.

Above all, the reign of Kevin Pietersen will be eventful. Geoff Miller and his selectors have taken a bold decision to appoint this unique character and it can only be hoped they will be rewarded for their imagination. I am sure they will be.