LONDON (AP):

New England cricket captain Andrew Strauss pledged yesterday to restore team unity following Kevin Pietersen's resignation and the sacking of coach Peter Moores.

Strauss is looking to bring stability and calm to the team, which faces an Ashes series against Australia this summer in England.

"We've got to get back to playing cricket and winning cricket matches," Strauss said at a news conference at Lord's.

He is seen as a safe choice amid speculation that the team was split over the conflict between the captain and the coach.

"I don't think the rifts are nearly as bad as people have made them out to be," he said a day after the departures of Pietersen and Moores. "I've got some conver-sations with some players and I'll happily do that over the next week and move forward. It was clear you need a captain and coach in a good working relationship. That is the crux."

Coach needed

Strauss will lead the team on the tour of the West Indies, which begins January 21.

Although the England and Wales Cricket Board moved quickly to appoint Strauss, it still has to find a coach to replace Moores, who was in charge for 18 months after the 2007 World Cup.

The South Africa-born batsman said once a new coach is appointed, he will sit down with him to discuss the way forward.

After the tour of the Caribbean, England host the West Indies and then take on their oldest and most competitive opponents, Australia, in an Ashes series starting July.

Strauss said that there were signs on last month's tour of India that Pietersen and Moores were "not getting on."

Strong-willed person

"KP is a very strong-willed person and I think that was one of his great strengths as England captain," Strauss said. "He had a vision of where he felt England needed to go and backed himself to deliver that.

"He was not worried about upsetting a few people on the way. So, in a way, that is a very positive trait to have as a person, But, in an another way, it is going to create confrontations at times, and that is the way it has worked out."

British media have reported for the past two weeks that Pietersen was unhappy with Moores' coaching and selection decisions.

Vented frustrations

Pietersen openly vented his frustrations in a weekend newspaper column, and that ultimately, led to his demise as captain after just five months.

"I do feel some sympathy for him because I think he felt he was doing what was right," Strauss said. "You don't know how many people felt like he did, but that was what his views were. He took those actions because he believed it was the right thing to do. That is Kevin Pietersen as a person and I don't think he should be vilified because of that."