For the first time since Mike Atherton stepped down just over 10 years ago, the England selectors faced an uncomfortable decision over the Test captaincy. Not because they had a wide range of options, but because Kevin Pietersen is so complex and controversial.

After three years in the England side, Pietersen had more than earned his chance. He had done everything that could have been asked of him, scoring heaps of runs against every opponent, maintaining daunting levels of fitness, and improving his fielding until he became one of the sharpest catchers in the England team.

At the same time, though, English cricket followers could hardly be blamed if they approached his captaincy with a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

There are three reasons to be concerned about this appointment. The first is Pietersen's country of origin.

No England captain in any sport is treated with much sympathy when he loses and Pietersen can expect to be hit harder than anyone, partly because of his outsider status, and partly because of that same cockiness that the South Africans have preyed upon this summer.

Pietersen's ego is the second area of concern. His innings in the third Test at Edgbaston summed up the nature of his play: it would have been glorious had he reached his hundred with a straight six. As it was, his dismissal - holing out to long-on on 94 - was probably the turning point of the match. After a howler like that you might argue that England had two choices: either drop him or make him captain.

The extra responsibility could bring some much needed level-headedness to his play or it could leave him confused, trapped between his natural instincts and the needs of the team. And if he retains his image as a selfish player, will the other players commit themselves fully to his leadership? Again, it is a risky move which could go either way. You would hope that Pietersen's fierce commitment to self-improvement would transmit itself to the rest of the dressing-room, but there is no guarantee of success.

The final, and perhaps the most pressing, concern must be for Pietersen's batting, though he has made an excellent start (see story above). History suggests captaincy can have a negative impact on form. Michael Vaughan suffered a rapid fall-off in his returns, as did Nasser Hussain before him. Mike Atherton held up well for the first couple of years, but then fell away during the mid-1990s. Will Pietersen be able to use the captaincy to spur him on to greater efforts, as Graham Gooch did? Or will it blunt his edge? We can certainly look forward to a fascinating period for the England team, and a testing one for Pietersen himself.

The debate over other rivals - including Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Andrew Flintoff and Kent's Robert Key - looks likely to be a pointless one, as England have clearly identified their man. Paul Collingwood's conveniently timed resignation as one-day captain has cleared the decks for a single leader.

The one man who has kept below the radar in all this is the coach, Peter Moores. Since taking over from Duncan Fletcher, Moores has come across as a back-room facilitator, but there has been little evidence thus far that he has the vision and ingenuity of his predecessor.

While Vaughan has leapt overboard, Moores sails on. It now seems unlikely that he will be deposed before the Ashes series next year, purely on the grounds of continuity. But his results must improve if he is not to be remembered as an over-promoted No. 2.