Andrew Strauss has admitted Kevin Pietersen's appointment as England's new Test and one-day captain was a brave decision by the national selectors. South-Africa born Pietersen, 28, was confirmed as successor to Michael Vaughan, as well as replacing former one-day skipper Paul Collingwood, at Lord's on Monday.
But England opener Strauss believes the flamboyant batsman will find it hard to emulate Vaughan, who won 26 of his 51 Tests during a five-year reign, because he has so little captaincy experience.
"It is a brave decision because KP (Pietersen) hasn't done much captaincy before. But I think he has matured a lot in the last couple of years," Strauss said. "We are all very sad Michael has decided to step down. Having been such an influential figure in the dressing room, it is going to take some used to someone else being in charge.
"It is a big job. I've done it a few times and you only had to see how much it meant to Michael Vaughan yesterday to realise it is an encompassing job. "It is going to be a massive job. He will have an abundance of confidence to believe he can do it and he will have the full support of all the players around him." Strauss dismissed suggestions that Pietersen was prone to bouts of selfishness and insisted he will have the full backing of the players.