Kevin Pietersen [Images] must maintain his swashbuckling approach to batting despite taking over as England captain, former skipper Andrew Flintoff [Images] said on Tuesday.

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"He (Pietersen) is a fine player and has confidence in bucket loads which he will probably take into his captaincy," Flintoff told British newspapers.

"But you don't want him to change. He averages around 50 in both forms of the game and he's an unbelievable talent."

Pietersen was appointed on Monday after Michael Vaughan [Images] stood down as captain of the Test team and Paul Collingwood [Images] decided to relinquish the role of skipper of the one-day side.

Andrew Strauss [Images], another member of the England [Images] squad who has captained his country in the past, said Pietersen was capable of making the difficult decisions that will be required.

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"He has got some very important attributes that you need in a captain," said Strauss. "He can clearly lead by example by being a fantastic player.

"He is a very confident person and he is pretty decisive as well. When tough decisions are there to be made, he is going to make those decisions."

Pietersen will make his first appearance as Test captain in the fourth and final Test against South Africa [Images] at the Oval which starts on Thursday.

South Africa have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.