Captaincy must have seemed very easy to Kevin Pietersen as his first day in charge of the England team coincided with the return of a rejuvenated Stephen Harmison and perfect conditions for swing that were superbly exploited by James Anderson. By the end, England could reflect on probably their best day of the npower series.

The extra pace of Harmison changed the course of the fourth Test match at the Brit Oval, sparking a South Africa collapse from 103 for one to 194 all out with wickets in successive balls after lunch. England then reduced the deficit to 145 for the loss of only Andrew Strauss before close.

Even the most mundane captain can be made to look like Mike Brearley if he has top-class bowlers at his disposal and Pietersen — who will never be described as mundane — can take credit for his personal wish not only to have Harmison back in the side, but also to entrust him with the new ball. “A lot of the things that Kevin did went right for him,” Harmison said. “I thought he did fantastically well and I think a lot of us helped him. He is up for it and enjoying the challenge. He always has ideas and he is always behind us.

“When you lose somebody like Michael Vaughan, you have to have a look at yourself and you are all pretty much a captain when you go on the field. That was something we did well — there was one leader in Kevin, but he will need help from the rest of us because he has not done the job before. It was a great team effort and a special day for Kevin.”

Harmison said that he felt like a child on Christmas Eve after Pietersen sent him a “good luck” text message on Wednesday evening — surely a sign of the times — but his first ball could not have been more different from the famous howler at Brisbane that Andrew Flintoff collected at second slip.

This time, Harmison gained momentum from an extraordinary start, in which Graeme Smith was dropped by Alastair Cook first ball and needed treatment after being hit between the legs, and Tim Ambrose, the wicketkeeper, was hit in the mouth when another ball reared steeply.

Those efforts were rewarded in the second session when Smith mistimed an attempted pull and Hashim Amla, next ball, had his off stump uprooted by a yorker timed at 92.9mph. Anderson followed things up by making Jacques Kallis his 100th Test wicket, continuing the strong overall impression since coming into the side with Stuart Broad in place of Harmison and Matthew Hoggard after the Hamilton Test in New Zealand in March.

At one point, Harmison had slipped to seventh in the fast bowlers’ pecking order, but he attributed his recovery to a combination of rest and overs in county cricket. “Playing for my country means a lot to me,” he said. “It was right that I was dropped. I feel better now than I did then and I hope this is the start of a successful time for me.

“Bowlers have been doing well and they deserved to keep their shirts, but I have put pressure on them and now I have my chance. Whoever I play for, I always try my best and for the last 12 months my best has not always been good enough.”

Pietersen is already guaranteed a happier introduction to captaincy than Vaughan, his predecessor, whose first Test in charge against South Africa in 2003 resulted in an innings defeat at Lord’s. On the first day, England were dismissed for 173 and Smith finished on 80 not out on the way to a second double-hundred of the series.