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Duncan Fletcher, the Ashes-winning England coach, fears there will be tricky times ahead for newly appointed captain Andrew Strauss.

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Fletcher, who left his post in 2007, expects the fall-out from Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores' departures to haunt England, leaving Strauss with a difficult task to helm the side.

"What a mess," Fletcher said. "How sad for English cricket that a year containing a home Ashes series has begun in such chaos."

"The selectors really should have stepped in before things turned ugly. Instead, England are in real trouble with the arrival of the Australians only a few months away. It all seems such a shame."

Fletcher believes Strauss, expected to lead England on the one-dayers as well as Test series in the Caribbean, may find himself trying to unite divided factions within the team.

"Andrew Strauss was the only viable option," he said. "But he will need the support of all the other players, and he will need to be rated by the other players too - which is crucial for any leader."

"There are egos in that dressing room who could cause more problems for the new captain. Not least of the difficulties will be how to handle KP when he returns to the rank and file.

"The ECB has exposed him somewhat by admitting that its research, whatever form it took, revealed a lack of support for Pietersen as captain.

"That to me sounds like a huge problem in the making: will the dressing room divide into pro- and anti-KP camps? Will the new captain have the backing of all the senior players? It's going to be a huge issue for the poor captain in the months ahead."