LONDON, Aug 6: South Africa may have won the series but coach Mickey Arthur says they are still seeking “the complete performance” in the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval starting on Thursday.

The match features a head-to-head clash between South African captain Graeme Smith and new England skipper Kevin Pietersen, who once exchanged bitter insults but who now appear to have developed mutual respect.

After being named captain, Pietersen was unstinting in his praise for Smith’s match-winning 154 not out in the third Test at Edgbaston last Saturday, while Smith has said the animosity belongs in the past.

Arthur said there will be no special motivation for the South Africans because of Pietersen’s South African upbringing and his criticism of the South African system when he pledged his future to England.

“Not at all,” said Arthur. “Our guys are extremely motivated for any Test match, irrespective of who the opposition is or who the captain is.”

He said there was no lingering feeling among his players that Pietersen was still a South African. “He made his decision. It’s clearly been a good move for him and he’s regarded as the enemy now. We can’t claim him.”

Arthur added that he wished Pietersen well as captain but warned he would face some major challenges.

“Does it affect his batting, what’s his vision going to be going forward? I guess all these things will be answered over the next year or so.”Arthur said he was not totally satisfied with his team despite them leading the series 2-0.

“We are a very goal-driven side. We want to become very resilient, we want to be ruthless and this is part of the journey. For us there’s no dead rubber. It’s about us winning 3-0.

“There are areas we haven’t performed well in. We’re looking to improve all the time and become the complete package, which I don’t think we are yet.”

England have made two changes to their team for the Test.

Ryan Sidebottom, England’s leading wicket-taker this year, is replaced by Stuart Broad for the fourth and final match of the series, while Steve Harmison comes in for former skipper Michael Vaughan, leaving no place for Ravi Bopara.

The decision to ignore Essex batsman Bopara as Vaughan’s replacement means England have reverted to a five-man bowling attack, despite failing to score more than 250 in the first innings of the last two Tests.

Ian Bell has been promoted to his favoured number three position, while all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will bat at number six having played at seven in the two previous Tests.

It will be Harmison’s first Test since the opening defeat against New Zealand in Hamilton last March, while Board is back after being rested at Edgbaston.

Tim Ambrose, picked at number eight at Headingley and number six at Edgbaston, once again has to move to number seven to accommodate the return of Flintoff at six.

After successive defeats at Headingley and Edgbaston handed South Africa the series, Pietersen’s side have the chance to salvage some pride in south London and the new skipper is happy with the attacking line-up.

“I’m going to go with four fast bowlers and Monty (Panesar),” Pietersen said.

“I think it is an aggressive move, a positive move. We need to take 20 wickets in this Test – you need to take 20 in any Test – and I feel a lot more comfortable with four fast bowlers.

“We’ve given responsibility to the batters to score runs with Colly (Paul Collingwood) at five, Freddie (Andrew Flintoff) at six, Timmy (Ambrose) seven and Broad eight. I’m looking forward to getting started,” he added.

“I like Steve and what he brings to the team. He’s had his ups and downs but I have a really good relationship with Steve. He seems as excited as anything and he had a bit of a bounce in his step.

“I like Steve in the side. Mooresy (coach Peter Moores) and I are singing from the same hymn sheet at the moment. It’s all positive.”

England coach Peter Moores said he was confident he and Pietersen would have a good working relationship despite media reports that the two had not always seen eye to eye.

“I’ve always found Kevin fine,” he said. “What I like is that he has a view, he’s passionate, committed and prepared to work extremely hard.”

Moores said he and Pietersen had an hour-long meeting before the captaincy was announced. “We both felt very confident that we could work together.”

Pietersen’s preparation for his first Test in charge was affected by rain which prevented both teams from practising on Tuesday.

South Africa are expected to field an unchanged team, with fast bowler Dale Steyn again missing out because of broken left thumb.

Teams:

ENGLAND: Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen (captain), Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Tim Ambrose, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Steve Harmison.

SOUTH AFRICA (probable): Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, A.B. de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini.

Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) and Steve Davis (Australia).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).—AFP