Moores and Pietersen sort out issues

Peter Moores, England's coach, has played down rumours of a rift between him and Kevin Pietersen, England's new captain. While admitting they had differences in the past, Moores said all was resolved during an hour-long meeting at a Northampton hotel on Sunday following Michael Vaughan's resignation as captain after England's defeat in the third Test at Edgbaston against South Africa.

"Coaches and captains are always going to have different views because they look at the game from a different angle," Moores said ahead of the fourth and final Test at The Oval. "But I've always found Kevin fine. What I like about him is that he's got his views, which can be pretty forthright. One of the first things I wanted to do when we were going to offer him the captaincy was to sit down and talk to him about where he was coming from and what his views were and whether they matched mine. By the end we both felt very confident that we were coming from the same place."

Moores said he was looking forward to Pietersen's style of leadership and was confident he would be just as successful as Vaughan, despite their contrasting personalities. He singled out an encouraging sign that senior members in the team had welcomed Pietersen's appointment, after batsman Andrew Strauss admitted his disappointment in losing out on the captaincy race. Strauss said he eyed the Test captaincy but agreed Pietersen was the best person for the job, given that he's a regular in the XI in all three formats of the game.

"He'll be different to Michael [Vaughan] because he's a different man," Moores said. "Michael had his style and that was very successful. Kevin will bring Kevin Pietersen, which is crucial. He'll be his own man and that's going to be really important. What's really promising is that the senior arm of the team is going to get behind him."

Moores, however, insisted he wouldn't change his approach to coaching despite the change of guard. "Your coaching style changes with different people, but your coaching philosophy doesn't change all that much," he said. "I don't particularly see my views on the game changing. The coach's job is to try to take pressure off the captain."

Moores' South African counterpart, Mickey Arthur, said his team will observe Pietersen closely when he takes charge for the first time in an official capacity on Thursday. He agreed that for teams to succeed, it's essential for the captain and coach to think along the same lines.

"The challenge is whether it affects his batting,"Arthur said. "What's his vision going to be? I guess all those things will be answered in the next year or so. We can only wish him well from after the Oval Test match and we'll watch with interest how it all unfolds.

"As coach and captain you need to clarify the roles. It's something Graeme [Smith] and I have done particularly well. You've got to back each other up in the roles you do. And you've got to have the same vision."