Thorpe backs Pietersen as ODI captain

Graham Thorpe feels Michael Vaughan should retire from one-day cricket to make way for Kevin Pietersen as the next captain. Vaughan has rarely looked the part of an ODI batsman and Thorpe believed he should focus on Test cricket in order for Pietersen to inspire England in the shorter version of the game.

"Michael Vaughan should have retired from ODIs after the World Cup and I think he should reconsider now to prolong his Test career to the Ashes," Thorpe, who played 100 Tests and 82 ODIs, wrote in his column for Teletext Sport. "Some people may find this surprising but I'd like to see Kevin Pietersen take over as one-day skipper, as I believe it could be the making of him. You need people with that hunger to play ODIs, and I think Pietersen could inspire a new-look one day team."

Thorpe, who retired from the game when Pietersen took his middle-order spot for the 2005 Ashes, marked out his maiden double hundred against West Indies last week as further proof of what lay ahead. "Pietersen's innings at Leeds proved to me that he has the mental strength that could make him England's highest ever run-scorer."

On Vaughan's comeback innings of 103 after after 18 months on the sidelines of Test cricket, Thorpe said: "Vaughan made a triumphant return for England in the second Test which can only be good news for the side going forward. I know there were grumbles around about him coming back straight away, and some were waiting for him to make a mistake, but he answered them emphatically."

Thorpe added that there was little way up for an injury-hit West Indies, down 0-1 after their worst defeat in Tests, in the best-of-four series. "The Windies were woeful at Headingley, proving their inexperience against the swinging ball. Technically they were no better than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe and it's hard to see them improving, with the weather being so poor at the moment."