Andrew Strauss was delighted to see Kevin Pietersen 'back to his best' as England begins its build-up to the Ashes defence in Australia.
Pietersen was hit by an Achilles injury during last year's Ashes campaign and he struggled for runs in South Africa, scoring just 177 runs in four Tests at an average of 25.
But Pietersen arrested his slump with 99 in the first Test against Bangladesh and unbeaten 74 in the second to show a timely return to form.
England faces Bangladesh and Pakistan at home this year before attempting to win the Ashes on Australian soil for the first time since 1986-87.
Strauss said: "He was always going to come back into form sooner rather than later. He is an absolute class player and is our best player by a distance."
"People were getting on his case but I knew it was only a matter of time. It was good from his perspective and it sets him up really well."
"The way he was playing at the end though shows he is back to his best."
"Looking forward to the Ashes you need probably five out of your top six batsmen to be in really top nick and someone like KP has the ability to take the game away from the opposition."
"He is going to be crucial to our chances - but you only win an Ashes series if the whole team does its job so we won't be pinning all our hopes on him."
Strauss is relishing the chance to take hold of the captaincy reins from Alastair Cook, who impressed as an able deputy during the one-day and Test series victories in Bangladesh.
Strauss is not ready to let Cook take over full-time - but he knows the extra leadership experienced can only help England's development.
"I have been captain for just over 12 months and I look to this next Ashes and beyond this Ashes. I have got no plans to give up the game of cricket in the near future that is for sure. There are still a few years left," said Strauss.
"No-one knows how long I am going to go on, no-one knows what the state of the England team is going to be like when I finish up so to nail him down as my successor would be wrong."
"What I would say is that he is one of the guys who we have identified as having the potential to do the job and one thing that was lacking for him was captaining sides."
"He has long been earmarked as a potential captain because he is a very grounded individual. He works hard, he does everything right and he is very well respected within the group for doing that."
"He has enhanced his standing although his standing has always been very high in the team. I am sure I will benefit from having him as vice-captain in terms of him knowing a bit more about what the job entails and how he can help out."
"We have got Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen in there and Cooky has had a go and sometimes you are looking for ideas."
"The more people that are thinking as a captain rather than thinking about their own game is healthy for me and for the team as an entity."
Strauss is convinced his decision to miss the Bangladesh tour will stand his form and England in good stead when the Ashes and then the World Cup come around.
"We have some really important cricket coming up. The Ashes is a huge series for us and the World Cup is a huge one-day series for us. We need to be peaking there," said Strauss.
"I can understand the argument that the captain should be there all the time but I still think it has been the right decision in the long-term interests of the England side."