Talking through his thirteenth Test hundred last night, Kevin Pietersen exuded so much warmth towards friend and foe alike that it seemed as though the Summer of Love had arrived - give or take the summer. It would be no surprise to see him walk out this morning with an acoustic guitar and flowers in his hair.

Pietersen has never been one to check his emotions or to underplay a situation. So he put his effort yesterday on a par with his 158 at the Brit Oval in 2005, arguably the most important individual innings by an England player in an Ashes Test match.

Ian Bell's 75 not out was “incredible, absolutely incredible”, while Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook had to settle for being merely “brilliant” in their opening stand of 114, ground out in 42 overs. Then there were the South Africans. “They are certainly a great bunch of guys,” Pietersen said.

Well, atmosphere can be as strong an hallucinogen as any drug inhaled in 1967. The only thing that had gone to pot yesterday was South Africa's bowling and Pietersen's high came from a particularly generous reception from the Lord's crowd towards the best England batsman of his generation. “The crowd was absolutely magnificent,” he said. “I cannot thank everybody enough for their appreciation and applause. When I reached my hundred, those were two of the most emotional minutes of my life in cricket. They just kept going ... it makes me feel so, so loved now.”

Pietersen has been in the England side for three years now and his nationality has long since ceased to be an issue unless South Africa happen to be the opposition. Captaining the side in the final one-day international against New Zealand recently was the final seal of approval for him.

“There was a bit of scepticism about being from South Africa originally,” he said. “I knew I had to play well at the start of my career to get people on my side. There was a lot of nonsense, which was expected, but sitting here now I feel as English as anybody. I absolutely love it.”

He said that he had felt completely relaxed at the prospect of a first Test appearance against the country of his birth. It was silly, he thought, to have worked himself up into a tizz before the World Cup game between the countries in Barbados last year and he was determined not to become as nervous and fidgety again.

To judge from the start of his innings, it seemed that by trying so hard not to think of the occasion he ended up doing just that. The risky single to get off the mark is as much a signature as his “flamingo” shot through mid-wicket and it even has its own name - a “Red Bull run”, named after the drink he promotes.

If South Africa were disappointed at the missed run-out opportunity, it did not cloud their sportsmanship when the hundred was completed. “They were brilliant,” Pietersen said. “I have not really had any beef with any of them except for Graeme Smith, and that was four years ago.”

For Smith the issue has lingered longer; as recently as Tuesday he was reported as saying that he would get on a lot better with Pietersen if Pietersen kept his mouth shut. That was a surprise to Mickey Arthur, the coach, who said that the team had taken a policy decision not to harp on about the Pietersen question.

England's gain is their loss, and that is surely what grates most. South Africa were backed strongly before the game, but now face an uphill challenge to claw their way back. There is only one song to put on their CD player in the dressing-room this morning: We Shall Overcome.