Strauss gets Flower backing

England head coach Andy Flower says Andrew Strauss remains the right man to skipper the country despite the defeat to South Africa.

England lost their world number one Test status when they went down to a 2-0 series defeat to the Proteas on Monday and some, including former England opener Geoffrey Boycott, have criticised the skipper for his summer performances. However, Flower says Strauss is the best man to lead the Test side going forward although he did admit the ongoing controversy surrounding Kevin Pietersen had unsettled him. "I think the last couple of weeks have been particularly draining on him. This [Pietersen] issue has certainly not helped and it's been a very unwelcome distraction during a very high-profile and brilliant Test series. "But he will re-energise. He can certainly take the Test team forward," he added on BBC Sport. England have named their squads for the forthcoming ODIs against South Africa and also the World T20 squad that will aim to defend the crown they won in 2010 but Strauss will play no part and neither will Pietersen.