Kevin Pietersen has succeeded Michael Vaughan as England cricket captain.
Following Vaughan's shock resignation on Sunday, the 28-year-old's appointment was confirmed by national selector Geoff Miller at Lord's.
Pietersen will captain both the Test and one-day sides and will lead England in the final Test against South Africa at The Oval on Thursday.
He said: "I'm very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England."
The South Africa-born batsman becomes England's 74th Test captain and had been widely tipped to take over from Vaughan and one-day captain Paul Collingwood, who also stood down on Sunday following England's Test series defeat to South Africa.
Pietersen, who has played 40 Tests for England and burst onto the international stage in the famous Ashes win over Australia in 2005, added: "It's a huge honour and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career.
"I have learned a great deal about leadership from playing under both Michael and Paul and fully appreciate the level of responsibility that comes with the job of captaining your country.
"My immediate priority will be this week's fourth npower Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring that the team are properly prepared and play to their full potential, starting on Thursday."
Pietersen has captained England before, in the recent final one-day match against New Zealand, which England lost.
Miller together with selectors Ashley Giles and James Whittaker and England coach Peter Moores sat down on Sunday to decide on Vaughan's successor.
Other potential captains whose names were in the frame were Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Kent skipper Rob Key.
Miller said: "In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain.
"Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room and I am sure he will be looking to lead from the front and work closely with both the players and the coaching staff to bring England success in the future."
With Vaughan deciding not to play in the final Test, England have made one change to the squad with Essex's Ravi Bopara replacing him.
England also announced the squad for five one-day internationals with all-rounder Andrew Flintoff returning in place of Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas.
Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior has earned a recall as a replacement for Tim Ambrose while uncapped Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel is included for the first time.
Pietersen started his tenure as England captain praising his predecessor Vaughan.
"First of all, I'd like to say Michael Vaughan...what a great man he was as a skipper," he said.
"They are huge boots to fill and I'll try to give it the best possible go I can.
"He was a great leader, he brought me into the side and I always tried to the best I could for a great man."
He admitted to consulting with his wife Jessica, parents and siblings before agreeing to take on the job.
"This was an emotional decision and it was right to speak to my wife Jessica, my mum and dad and my brothers," Pietersen revealed.
"I then went to see the coach (Peter Moores) and we had a really good meeting.
"It's all about looking forward now and making sure we achieve what we want to achieve."
Pietersen said he would look to the senior players for advice but wanted to stamp his own captaincy style on the national team.
"I will always respect what has happened in the past and I will always respect what Michael did and what my predecessors did.
"I will always look for advice because I'm new in this job and I've had calls and messages from the senior players in the squad.
"Once you have the support of the lads around you, you can't ask for any more.
"But I'll have my own ways and it's very exciting. It's a brand new test and a bright new challenge for me."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/7540228.stm
Following Vaughan's shock resignation on Sunday, the 28-year-old's appointment was confirmed by national selector Geoff Miller at Lord's.
Pietersen will captain both the Test and one-day sides and will lead England in the final Test against South Africa at The Oval on Thursday.
He said: "I'm very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England."
The South Africa-born batsman becomes England's 74th Test captain and had been widely tipped to take over from Vaughan and one-day captain Paul Collingwood, who also stood down on Sunday following England's Test series defeat to South Africa.
Pietersen, who has played 40 Tests for England and burst onto the international stage in the famous Ashes win over Australia in 2005, added: "It's a huge honour and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career.
"I have learned a great deal about leadership from playing under both Michael and Paul and fully appreciate the level of responsibility that comes with the job of captaining your country.
"My immediate priority will be this week's fourth npower Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring that the team are properly prepared and play to their full potential, starting on Thursday."
Pietersen has captained England before, in the recent final one-day match against New Zealand, which England lost.
Miller together with selectors Ashley Giles and James Whittaker and England coach Peter Moores sat down on Sunday to decide on Vaughan's successor.
Other potential captains whose names were in the frame were Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Kent skipper Rob Key.
Miller said: "In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain.
"Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room and I am sure he will be looking to lead from the front and work closely with both the players and the coaching staff to bring England success in the future."
With Vaughan deciding not to play in the final Test, England have made one change to the squad with Essex's Ravi Bopara replacing him.
England also announced the squad for five one-day internationals with all-rounder Andrew Flintoff returning in place of Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas.
Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior has earned a recall as a replacement for Tim Ambrose while uncapped Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel is included for the first time.
Pietersen started his tenure as England captain praising his predecessor Vaughan.
"First of all, I'd like to say Michael Vaughan...what a great man he was as a skipper," he said.
"They are huge boots to fill and I'll try to give it the best possible go I can.
"He was a great leader, he brought me into the side and I always tried to the best I could for a great man."
He admitted to consulting with his wife Jessica, parents and siblings before agreeing to take on the job.
"This was an emotional decision and it was right to speak to my wife Jessica, my mum and dad and my brothers," Pietersen revealed.
"I then went to see the coach (Peter Moores) and we had a really good meeting.
"It's all about looking forward now and making sure we achieve what we want to achieve."
Pietersen said he would look to the senior players for advice but wanted to stamp his own captaincy style on the national team.
"I will always respect what has happened in the past and I will always respect what Michael did and what my predecessors did.
"I will always look for advice because I'm new in this job and I've had calls and messages from the senior players in the squad.
"Once you have the support of the lads around you, you can't ask for any more.
"But I'll have my own ways and it's very exciting. It's a brand new test and a bright new challenge for me."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/7540228.stm
