England's Kevin Pietersen stretches during a practice session at the Oval, yesterday. England will play South Africa in the fourth Test at the Oval today. - AP

LONDON (AP):

THE KEVIN Pietersen era begins today when the flamboyant batsman leads the England team out as captain in the fourth and final Test at The Oval against South Africa, with the four-match series already won 2-0 by the tourists.

The South African-born Pietersen, who gave up his citizenship there in protest at a quota system that was penalising him, has replaced Michael Vaughan and will come face to face with South Africa captain Graeme Smith, with whom he has clashed frequently on the field.

Pietersen's influence was felt immediately when the England team, with a five-strong bowling line-up, was announced, including paceman Steve Harmison, who had lost his dangerous edge over the past year. Strong performances for his countryside Durham convinced Pietersen and coach Peter Moores to give the shy bowler another chance.

Rested

Left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom makes way for another paceman Stuart Broad, who was rested for the third Test at Edgbaston. Broad, who tops the series batting averages for England, provides another batting option at number eight after scoring 76 in the second Test at Leeds.

"Sidey (Sidebottom) is struggling with a few niggles," said Pietersen. "We all saw he was down on pace last week, so he's not fit at the moment and we decided to give him a bit of a break to get away from things. But Steve (Harmison) is buzzing, properly buzzing. You can see that little smile on his face, and he'll be given the responsibility to take the new ball tomorrow."

"I'm going to go with four fast bowlers and Monty (Panesar)," Pietersen said. "I think it is an aggressive move, a positive move. We need to take 20 wickets in this Test - you need to take 20 in any Test - and I feel a lot more comfortable with four fast bowlers."

Harmison and Broad are also likely to be rewarded on an Oval wicket that usually provides high bounce.

Ian Bell will move up to replace Vaughan at number three and Paul Collingwood, who retained his place with a gritty century in Birmingham, moves to five, with Andrew Flintoff at six.

With the series already won, South Africa coach Mickey Arthur said he is looking to eliminate mistakes and weaknesses from his team as he prepares for the biggest test, a tour of Australia in December and January.

"Our guys are extremely motivated for any Test match, irrespective of who the opposition is or who the captain is," Arthur said, while noting there were areas South Africa need to work on.

Broken finger

This was shown clearly at Edgbaston when paceman Dale Steyn was absent with a broken finger that will keep him out of action at The Oval as well. The bowling lineup looked far from strong, with Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, André Nel and Jacques Kallis sharing the attack.

In the first Test, England racked up almost 600, forcing South Africa to bat for three days to draw. Apart from Steyn and occasionally Morkel, there has been a feeling that England sacrificed wickets rather than fell victim to top-notch bowling. Ntini and Nel are both 31 and their age is beginning to show.

"We are a very goal-driven side, we want to become very resilient, we want to be ruthless and this is part of the journey. For us, there's no dead rubber. It's about us winning 3-0," Arthur said.

"There are areas we haven't performed well in. We're looking to improve all the time and become the complete package, which I don't think we are yet."

Personal grudge

Arthur said any personal grudge between Pietersen and South Africans was in the past.

"He made his decision. It's clearly been a good move for him and he's regarded as the enemy now. We can't claim him," Arthur said.

Arthur wished Pietersen well as captain but warned that he would face some major challenges.

"Does it affect his batting? What's his vision going to be going forward? I guess all these things will be answered over the next year or so."

Teams:

England: Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen (captain), Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar.

South Africa: Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, André Nel, Makhaya Ntini.