Interesting times ahead for Strauss: Buchanan

London:

Handling a divided England team with two former captains on board, in Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, will be a test of newly-appointed skipper Andrew Strauss' diplomatic skills, feels former Australia coach John Buchanan.

Admitting that Strauss was best suited for the job, Buchanan said managing Pietersen would be the toughest task for the new skipper.

"It will be an interesting time for Strauss with two former captains in the side, and a third - Michael Vaughan - still floating around," Buchanan said.

"How will he deal with a disgruntled Kevin Pietersen after everything that has happened? The ball is in Pietersen's court now. It is a question of how he handles the situation and whether he can be a team player.

"There have been plenty of past players whose characters didn't fit into the team dynamic, but whose performance outweighed the disadvantages of having them there. From the England team's perspective, Pietersen has always been one of those players. It is up to the selectors to look at the cost-benefit ratio.," he was quoted as saying in 'The Telegraph'.

Pietersen recently relinquished England captaincy after a feud with coach Peter Moores, who was also axed. The England and Wales Cricket Board is expected to announce a new interim coaching team soon after naming Strauss as the skipper of the one-day team for the West Indies tour.