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Captains face 'hell of a mission' - KP

Kevin Pietersen: 'Not being picked didn't bother me at all' © PA Photos

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Kevin Pietersen has warned England captains Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and Stuart Broad that they face "a hell of a mission" to make the new arrangement work.

Last week England named separate captains in all three forms of the game, with Cook and Broad taking on One Day International and Twenty 20 duties respectively, and Strauss continuing his Test role.

Pietersen knows better than most the stresses of leading the England side, having resigned as skipper in January 2009 after a turbulent spell in charge - and he is aware that the three-way experiment is risky.

"It's fascinating that we've got three captains, it's the first time it's ever been done," Pietersen told Sky Sports. "They're young, with fresh ideas, and Andy's [Flower, team director] made some very good decisions in the last couple of years, let's hope this is a good one as well.

"It's going to be a lot of work that the three will have to put in together, so it's going to be a hell of a mission doing it all, and fascinating to see how it's going to work out."

Pietersen was overlooked for the role following an interview, but insists he is not frustrated to miss out. "Not being picked for the one-day captaincy didn't bother me at all," he said. "I was just asked a question on whether I'd do it, and I said I would. I'm in a pretty good headspace now."

While Paul Collingwood was frustrated to lose the Twenty20 captaincy, he has offered successor Broad his full support. "I guess I've had my weekend of whingeing," Collingwood said. "In these circumstances it's time to move on and focus on what's ahead. I can't change any decisions, so I move on and hopefully the door's still open for the ODIs and Twenty20s. If not, I can always look back on what's been a decent career.

"It's worked with two captains on occasions, so there's no reason it can't work. It will be judged on success, and I wish the lads the best. Stuart Broad has my backing, and I was one of the first - hopefully - to send him a good luck message. He's got a good brain for Twenty20 cricket."

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