Kevin Pietersen's remarkable career took its latest and arguably most dramatic turn yesterday when he was named England cricket captain.

The South African-born batsman will lead England in Test, one-day and Twenty20 matches, starting with the fourth Test against South Africa this week.

The appointment came a day after Michael Vaughan's sudden resignation and caps a remarkable rise for the 28-year-old Pietersen, who was viewed as the enfant terrible of English cricket when he made his debut against Australia three years ago.

He has since toned down his outspoken comments _ and outrageous haircuts _ to become one of the team's most reliable members.

"In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain," national selector Geoff Miller said. "Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room, and I am sure that he will be looking to lead from the front."

Pietersen, who was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg near Durban but has an English mother, is the eighth best batsman in the International Cricket Council's rankings and one of the few experienced players guaranteed a place in the side.

There is a danger that, like Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara before him, he could find that the burden of leadership hampers his batting style, but Pietersen is a famously focused and driven athlete who has made a career of meeting and exceeding high expectations.

"If he takes to captaincy like he took to his batting, I don't foresee any problems at all," Miller said.

Barracked by hostile crowds still upset that he had opted to play for England, Pietersen hit 454 from the middle order in seven one-day games on a winter tour of his native South Africa to force his way into the test team for the 2005 Ashes series.

Picked ahead of the reliable Graham Thorpe, who was one of just eight Englishmen to play 100 Tests for his country, Pietersen made his debut in the opening Test against Australia with a pair of half centuries. He then smashed 158 in the final Test at The Oval to earn the draw that clinched England the Ashes after a 16-year wait.

Big-hitting but increasingly selective in his choice of shots, Pietersen has compiled 13 hundreds and 11 half-centuries to move to 3,777 runs in 42 Tests at an impressive average of 50.36.

"I am very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England," Pietersen said. "It's a huge honour for me and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career."

Test squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss.