Pietersen faces major test of captaincy

Dubai: In his first series as captain Kevin Pietersen transformed his team into a winning unit, beating South Africa.

The 18-year-old is a fighter to the core and has come up in the game the hard way.

Asked what was the secret of his success, he said: "It is my competitive spirit. I was born to a family of four boys and if in the dinner table if you closed your eyes you'd lose one of your sausages."

Pietersen is a daring batsman and many believe he will display the same qualities as captain.

He made his debut for Natal against England and made an unbeaten 61 off 57 balls despite batting at nine.

Pietersen blamed South Africa's quota system, which means teams have to include a certain number of non-white players, for prevented him from getting enough chances to show his talent.

Pietersen's English mother meant he was eligible to play for England.

True to his character he claimed the by limelight becoming the fastest to reach both 1,000 and 2,000 runs in one-day cricket.

In 2005 he bagged the International Cricket Council's ODI Player of the Year award and Emerging Player of the Year.

In three years he has become England's skipper.