Winning start for Pietersen

Andrew Flintoff hits the winning runs against South Africa.

LONDON // Kevin Pietersen savours his first victory as the England captain as his side beat South Africa by six wickets in the final Test yesterday. The newly installed England captain has enjoyed an impressive first week, encouraging and cajoling his side into dominating the tourists for most of the Test at the Oval to lift spirits again following the disappointment of defeat in the npower series.

For a long time on the final day, as England chased down a victory target of 197 to win, it seemed Pietersen's skills as a batsmen would not be needed. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook shared a 123-run opening stand, but the loss of three wickets in 42 balls shortly after lunch prompted Pietersen into action. He fell before the end, but by then the outcome was not in doubt and Andrew Flintoff secured the victory with a six off left-arm spinner Paul Harris.

Pietersen becomes the first England captain since Nasser Hussain in 1999 to claim a victory in his first match in charge. Following the emphatic defeats in the previous two matches, at Headingley and Edgbaston, England's display represented a significant turnaround in fortunes. They had resumed yesterday on nought without loss, with Middlesex left-hander Strauss knowing the first session of play was likely to define his immediate international future having averaged just 20.33 previously in the series.

Strauss was fortunate that luck was with him during a scratchy start to his innings when he took 19 balls to get off the mark. He then nearly fell for just four when he turned seamer Morne Morkel off his legs straight to Ashwell Prince at leg gully, who had been placed there the previous ball for just such a shot. Having set such an impressive platform, England seemed in little danger of getting the jitters until Ian Bell, batting in his preferred No 3 position, lost his leg stump to Ntini six overs later.

With just 50 runs required for victory, the nervousness spread among the 15,000 crowd when Strauss fell for 58 two balls later, caught at leg slip off a bat-pad as he pushed forward to Harris. It seemed the stage was set for Pietersen to continue his remarkable first week as England captain by also hitting the winning runs to secure his first Test triumph, but he was uncharacteristically quiet during a 35-run stand.

* PA Sport