England's selectors will reveal their new captain at 1300 BST on Monday, with Kevin Pietersen widely tipped to be given both the Test and one-day roles.

Michael Vaughan stood down as Test skipper on Sunday and Paul Collingwood resigned as one-day skipper.

Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Rob Key were considered by the selectors during a lengthy meeting on Sunday.

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The selectors will also name their squad for the fourth Test against South Africa at The Oval, as well as the one-day series.

The unorthodox Pietersen would be a controversial choice, but former England captain Mike Atherton, who led England in a record 54 Test matches, said the South African-born batsman was the right man for the job.

"If you're talking about someone to take on both jobs then Kevin Pietersen becomes the number one candidate because he's one of the few people who can be guaranteed their place in both teams," said Atherton.

Graham Gooch, who led England in 34 Tests, said Pietersen's ability to lead by example on the pitch makes him the best candidate.

"England need someone they can respect and who can take them forward over a period of time," he told BBC Sport.

"There are precedents for the best player being the captain - Allan Border did it for Australia and Viv Richards for West Indies. They were both successful, so why not?

"The most important thing about being a leader is having the respect of the players because then they follow you and play for you."

England legend Ian Botham said Pietersen could become an even better player with the added responsibility of captain.

"KP would relish the chance to be England captain and as good a player as he already is now, the extra responsibility might just send him on to a higher plane," Botham told the Daily Mirror.

"He is an exciting cricketer who has a decent cricket brain to go with his talents with the bat, and although he will be different to Michael there is every chance that he could be a success."

Both Vaughan and Collingwood agreed that the best way forward for England would be to appoint one captain for both Tests and ODIs.

"In an ideal world I think one captain is the best for the team, one voice doing all forms of the game," said Vaughan, who captained England in 51 Tests.

"That was when I was at my best because you're with the players all the time and you can really form a great bond."

Collingwood added: "In an ideal world we've always said that you should have one captain and I'm sure they'll make the decision who will captain from now on

"The one positive from all this is that hopefully they can get one captain who does both forms of the game and that would be the best for everyone."

(BBC)

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