In previous years England might have regarded Tuesday’s second one-day international at Trent Bridge as just another loseable game of limited-overs cricket at the end of a long, hard season, but Kevin Pietersen does not do routine. No sooner had the new captain inspired his cohorts to victory at Headingley on Friday night than he was colourfully urging them to refocus for the next battle in Nottingham, where England have the chance to achieve back-to-back one-day wins against South Africa for only the second time since 1994.

Pietersen’s demand was a characteristic mix of bravado and pragmatism. The ambition hard-coded into his DNA needs victory in his first full series as captain like the rest of us need oxygen, but he has spent enough time observing England from the ranks to know that the one-day side has been nothing if not inconsistent.

The lead they blew against New Zealand in June was not the first time England have taken their foot off the gas in a one-day series, and South Africa - rusty in Leeds but still ranked second in the world - have often been the beneficiaries.

During their last one-day series against them, England won the first game at Johan-nesburg, then tied at Bloemfontein before losing four of the next five matches (the other was a washout). On the 1999-2000 tour England began a triangular tournament that also involved Zimbabwe with victory, only to lose the next three matches to South Africa, including - from a position of strength - the final. And in 1995-96, a 1-1 scoreline became a 6-1 defeat with dispiriting haste. When Pietersen warned that England have made a “mess” of one-day series in the past, he wasn’t kidding.

Yet there is no denying the mood he has engendered since the double resignation of Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood three weeks ago. Such has been the swift break with the past that comparisons over the past few days have been not so much with Pietersen’s two predecessors as King Midas - and by persuading Steve Harmison to come out of one-day retirement, it seems the golden touch which brought him a century at The Oval in his first Test as captain and an unbeaten 90 plus two wickets in Leeds is yet to desert him.

Crucial to Pietersen’s chances of turning the one-day side from mid-table mediocrity to one capable of challenging for the World Cup in the sub-continent in 2011 will be his ability to get the best out of Andrew Flintoff. Headingley boded well: Pietersen encouraged Flintoff to bat at No 5, where his career average of 46 is twice what he has managed a place lower, and was rewarded with a properly constructed innings of 78 in 70 balls.

Flintoff was duly labelled a “superstar” by an excited Pietersen, which is the kind of language the England dressing room may have to get used to. But Flintoff, who until their partnership of 158 on Friday had not batted as productively with Pietersen since the pair added 103 in 18 overs in the Edgbaston Test against Australia three years ago, appears to have taken his captain’s relentlessly upbeat brand of man-management in his stride.

“He’s a confident lad,” said Flintoff after finishing off South Africa with two pinpoint yorkers in four balls. “He’s very single-minded, he’s determined, he’s passionate, and I think that’s rubbed off on the rest of the team. He’s very up front with his views on the way he plays and he’s instilled belief in the side, which is the big thing for us, especially in one-day cricket.

“It’s a new beginning with him at the front and hopefully we can play well together and for Kevin. We’ll see how it goes over the next few days but performances like that help in a big way.”

Flintoff’s one-day bowling remains world-class, despite a scrappy spell at Headingley during which Jacques Kallis hit him for three consecutive fours, but his batting has been a concern. That 78 was his highest one-day score since July 2005 and his first half-century in 18 innings: technical work with England’s batting coach Andy Flower and the team operations manager Phil Neale has helped him regain the balance that is vital to his game.

“I haven’t got to fifty for a while, so it was nice to stick my bat up,” he said. “Kevin knows I’ve worked hard on my batting. He was just as pleased as I was. He wants me to play my natural game in the way in which he’s seen me play and knows I can do. I felt I did that and I feel very comfortable at No 5.”

With Collingwood due to return on Tuesday from the four-match ban incurred for slow overrates while he was captain against New Zealand, Pietersen faces a dilemma that may mean his predecessor having to go in at No 6, a slot lower than he prefers. For the time being, only a resurgent South Africa can knock Pietersen from the crest of his wave, and there was more than a hint of KP-speak when Flintoff related the current dressing-room ethos.

“You can play with no fear, you can play with freedom, but you can’t be reckless,” he explained. “It’s a balance for us all to find. I think on [Friday’s] performance we’re going in the right direction. Having shown what we can do, Tuesday is an even bigger game for us.”

5
The number of consecutive defeats England had suffered against South Africa in one-day internationals before their 20-run victory at Headingley on Friday. It was South Africa’s first ODI loss for nine matches