Sooner or later, Kevin Pietersen will attempt something as captain that does not come off but, for the time being, everything he touches is turning to gold. Last night, even his occasional off-spin bowling played a key role as England won the opening game of the NatWest Series under floodlights at Headingley Carnegie, successfully defending a total of 275 for four. The new captain, inevitably, was his side’s top scorer with an unbeaten 90, forging a fine stand of 158 with Andrew Flintoff, who made 78.

Add to those game-breaking contributions a century and a victory in his first Test as captain and his success in persuading Stephen Harmison to come out of one-day retirement and the cricketing gods seem to be in thrall to Pietersen’s irresistible charms.

South Africa had been progressing with some comfort towards their target last night, reaching 141 for two after 26 overs when Pietersen brought himself into the attack. With his fourth ball, he enticed A. B. de Villiers into chipping a soft catch to

mid-wicket and then, in his next over, he completed the crucial run-out of Jacques Kallis for 52, taking Ian Bell’s sharp throw from mid-wicket and breaking the stumps with glee. He struck another telling blow when Mark Boucher was stumped, dragging his back foot as he swept. Suddenly, South Africa were 168 for five and England had taken a grip on the game that they did not relinquish. Lest he should be forgotten, Flintoff completed the victory with a pair of deadly yorkers.

“Things are working out right now, but it’s down to the way the guys have reacted in the last couple of weeks,” Pietersen said.

Such is the captain’s touch at present that his every bowling change seemed to bring a wicket. On his return to the side, Harmison twice took a wicket in the first over of a spell. Bowling with real pace down the hill, the prodigal fast bowler dismissed Graeme Smith with his fourth ball, an edge behind from a perfect length. “What we asked of Steve, he did it again,” Pietersen said. There was also an impressive performance from Samit Patel, who bowled ten overs of skiddy left-arm spin in his second one-day international. He took the crucial wicket of Herschelle Gibbs, who had given South Africa a racing start before he misjudged the Nottinghamshire all-rounder’s pace and was bowled attempting to cut.

There had been less rain in Leeds in recent days than in Chester-le-Street, where the Twenty20 International between these sides was washed out earlier this week. But the square had spent a long time under covers and yesterday’s wicket inevitably lacked pace. The outfield was also slow, so hitting boundaries was no easy task, as Ian Bell discovered.

Opening the innings, Bell failed to hit a boundary in 69 balls before he slashed Kallis to point. Matt Prior, his new opening partner, was more fluent in a first-wicket stand of 77, making 42 from 52 balls.

When Owais Shah top-edged a sweep, Pietersen and Flintoff came together in the 29th over. If the crowd were expecting fireworks from the box-office duo, they were to be disappointed, initially at least, as both players shrewdly took their time to gauge the pace of the pitch.

Of the first 50 runs they added, there were only two fours. Remarkably, it took Pietersen until his 52nd ball to find the rope, but he did not panic.

Despite the lack of boundaries, he reached his fifty in 55 balls before freeing his arms to make an unbeaten 90 from 82 balls, opening his stance to thrash Dale Steyn over mid-on for six.

With Flintoff playing his best innings since his return to international cricket earlier this summer, England hit 94 from the last ten overs.

This was an important innings for Flintoff. There have been concerns about his batting form since his latest injury lay-off, but he reached his first fifty in 18 one-day innings from 52 balls. Driving powerfully straight with minimal follow-through, a sure sign that he is returning to his best, he had made 78 from 70 balls before he was bowled attempting to leg-glance Dale Steyn.

That left the stage to his captain for the last few balls and, at the moment, that only seems right.

Scoreboard

England
I R Bell c De Villiers b Kallis 35
†M J Prior c De Villiers b Kallis 42
O A Shah c Philander b J Botha 12
*K P Pietersen not out 90
A Flintoff b Steyn 78
L J Wright not out 2
Extras (b 4, lb 5, w 6, nb 1) 16
Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 275

R S Bopara, S R Patel, S C J Broad, S J Harmison and J M Anderson did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-77, 2-86, 3-113, 4-271.

Bowling: Steyn 10-0-67-1; Ntini 9-0-38-0; Nel 10-1-53-0; Kallis 5-0-25-2; J Botha 7-0-33-1; Philander 9-0-50-0.

South Africa
H H Gibbs b Patel 37
*G C Smith c Prior b Harmison 21
J H Kallis run out 52
A B de Villiers c Bell b Pietersen 24
J P Duminy c Prior b Harmison 18
†M V Boucher st Prior b Pietersen 16
J Botha c sub b Broad 26
V D Philander run out 23
A Nel b Flintoff 10
D W Steyn not out 3
M Ntini b Flintoff 2
Extras (b 4, lb 8, w 11) 23
Total (49.4 overs) 255

Fall of wickets: 1-50, 2-93, 3-142, 4-149, 5-168, 6-202, 7-219, 8-245, 9-249.

Bowling: Broad 10-0-61-1; Anderson 3-0-18-0; Harmison 10-1-43-2; Flintoff 9.4-1-46-2; Patel 10-0-42-1; Bopara 2-0-11-0; Pietersen 5-0-22-2.

Umpires: I J Gould and S J A Taufel.

Schedule

Tuesday: Trent Bridge: Second one-day international.
Friday: Brit Oval: Third one-day international.
Sunday August 31: Lord’s: Fourth one-day international.
Wednesday September 3: SWALEC Stadium: Fifth one-day international.