Video: Pietersen returns to England | Video: Pietersen's press conference

Warne plays down England link | England coaching job would suit an Aussie, says Warne | Strauss has case for one-day captaincy | Why cricket conspires against Pietersen | Latest action from the Long Room at Lord's | Snape says Ashes will be mental battle | Miller insists he was unaware of ‘deep-rooted problems’

As the England captaincy was passed from Kevin Pietersen to Andrew Strauss, the contrast with five months earlier could not have been sharper. Strauss does not have Pietersen's presence or star quality, but there was, as expected, an air of calm reassurance in the Warner Stand at Lord's, where Strauss met the media for the first time as England's official, rather than stand-in, captain.

If Strauss was looking for good omens, then Pelham Warner, after whom the stand was named, provided one. Like Strauss, he was a Middlesex man, and behind the new captain was a photograph of Warner's England team that regained the Ashes 3-2 in 1903-04. If Strauss is to emulate him, he might think about the following issues that are cluttering his in-tray.

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• Shane Warne plays down England link

• Kevin Pietersen tops Andrew Strauss' in-tray

• Andrew Strauss has case for one-day captaincy

BACKGROUND

• Cricket conspired against Pietersen

• Miller was unaware of problems

• Latest action from the Long Room at Lord's

• Snape: Ashes will be a psychological battle

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BACKGROUND

• Strauss must heal England's rifts

• Strauss asked to pick up the pieces

• Ashes bid in chaos as big gamble fails

• Pietersen: England's flawed genius

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• Do England's Ashes hopes lie in ruin?

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Kevin Pietersen
Strauss said yesterday that he had already had a couple of conversations with Pietersen, who had offered his full support, and that he was confident that his predecessor would have no problems returning to the ranks and full productivity. But, really, such a bald statement of hope fails to do justice to the potential for upheaval once Pietersen reacquaints himself with a dressing-room he now knows has finished him off ascv captain.

England's greatest player has been publicly humiliated by team-mates who have been happy to share their thoughts in private with Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, but not with Pietersen. How would you feel walking back into the office knowing that your colleagues had done for you?

Ultimately, though, England need Pietersen and he needs them. Provided that all concerned realise this and that there is a move towards greater maturity, whereby respect, not popularity, is the measure of whether players can work together, Strauss will have a good chance of harnessing Pietersen's power to the benefit of all.

The captain and the coach
Since the advent of the era of the professional coach - essentially from Micky Stewart in the late 1980s onwards - England's best periods have been when the coach and captain have worked in harmony. Stewart and Graham Gooch enjoyed an excellent partnership, as did Duncan Fletcher and Nasser Hussain, and Fletcher and Michael Vaughan. All would attest to the many times that captain and coach differed in their opinions of selections, but a united front was presented to the players and the outside world.

Crucially, all shared a similar vision for the team, which at heart was the problem between Peter Moores and Pietersen. So while the ECB should not appoint Moores's successor as head coach on Strauss's say-so alone, he should be consulted on who the new man is. And then it is vital that they work together and show each other complete loyalty.

One-day cricket
Strauss was pointedly introduced yesterday as “England's Test captain” and, when asked about the one-day situation, was forced to concede it was “in flux” (in other words, nobody has a clue what will happen). Had Geoff Miller, the national selector, gone down the route suggested by The Times after Vaughan resigned, and appointed Strauss to the Test captaincy and Pietersen to the one-day job, England would not be faced with a situation in which their only viable candidate has been ignored as a one-day player for the past 18 months.

But who else is there other than Strauss? Andrew Flintoff harbours few ambitions in that area and let himself down when he did the job in Australia in 2006-07; Paul Collingwood doesn't want it; Ian Bell's position in the team is no more secure than Strauss's and someone such as Robert Key would be a leap of faith too far for Miller, whose love of gambling must have diminished post-Pietersen. So Strauss it will have to be, at least for the 50-over game. He should move himself to the middle order, where his lack of power-hitting will be less exposed, and hope that his form continues.

Selection
Miller was strangely absent from Strauss's inaugural press conference. When Pietersen was presented five months ago, it was Miller who was by his side. When I asked Morris who had appointed Pietersen, he said it was the selectors and that he had merely rubber-stamped their decision. Strauss needs to sit down with Miller and discuss his responsibilities vis-à-vis selection. Is he a selector or not? My advice to Strauss would be to distance himself immediately from selection and let it be known that the responsibility lies with Miller alone. In that way, he will not find himself embroiled in rows, as Vaughan was over Darren Pattinson, the Nottinghamshire fast-medium bowler, and Pietersen over Vaughan. A captain has enough on his plate without that.

Who is in charge?
The England set-up is replete with chiefs. There is Miller, Morris, and there will be a head coach installed once the ECB has gone through the kind of detailed process it avoided when Moores was ushered into the job in 2007. Strauss must sit down with them all and work out clear lines of responsibility. When it comes to the dressing-room and the field of play, Strauss must make it clear that his is the voice that counts.