The Papers' Take On England's Victory

Pietersen - inspirational breakfast companion.

Fleet Street are quite willing to admit that South Africa look homesick, but they're also keen to heap the praise on Kevin Pietersen's effect on the home side. There's plenty of gushing for Matt Prior too...

'England beat South Africa with embarrassing ease yesterday. Knocked sideways by Stuart Broad's compelling new-ball spell that brought him five wickets, and all out for only 83, their second lowest total ever, the tourists were a spent force by the time they came to bowl. Ian Bell and Matt Prior batted with freedom and when the latter, who had claimed a record-equalling six catches behind the stumps, pulled Andre Nel to the midwicket fence for the winning runs they were still five deliveries short of finishing only the 15th over.

'With the clock reading 5.35 and the sun still high there was no need even to switch on the expensive permanent fly-swat lights, so it was not only an efficient performance but an eco-friendly one too. Kevin Pietersen's desire to please everyone knows no bounds.

'The statistics just roll out. This is only the third time that England have won a limited-overs match by 10 wickets and only the second time that South Africa have succumbed in such fashion. With the exception of Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and assorted Associate nations, only Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been bowled out in fewer deliveries than the 138 England required here.

'Prior's six catches, one of them an absolute stunner taken high to his left in front of first slip to get rid of Graeme Smith, place him alongside Adam Gilchrist, Alec Stewart and Mark Boucher: no one has taken more. As for Broad, on his home ground and the one on which 21 years ago his father Chris top-scored for England against Pakistan in his only limited-overs international here, his five for 23 represent the fifth best figures by an England bowler, behind an admittedly motley collection of Paul Collingwood, Mark Ealham, Vic Marks and Craig White. Had Nel not swung the bat to considerable effect in Broad's final over to claim three boundaries and thus top-score with 13, only Collingwood, who managed six for 31 against Bangladesh on this ground in 2005, would stand above him.' - Mike Selevy, The Guardian.

'It gave Pietersen a victory that he could only have dreamed of when he so unexpectedly took over the reins in both forms of the game last month. The captain's contribution cannot be underestimated, not least because every major decision he has made so far has spectacularly come off.

'It helps, of course, to have Andrew Flintoff back fit and firing but Pietersen has helped speed up that process by backing Flintoff to bat at six in the Test team and five in the one-day outfit.

'And his move to ask Steve Harmison to return to one-day cricket has proved so far to be a masterstroke, not least because Flintoff so enjoys having his great friend Harmison around.

'Any side who can call on Flintoff and Harmison as first and second change behind two others in Broad and James Anderson, also bowling at close to 90mph, suddenly has the look of a formidable one-day team. And England have not been able to call themselves that since 1992.

'An outsider would never know that it is South Africa and not their opponents who are ranked as the world's second best one-day team, but England will surely make rapid progress from their current ranking of seven if they keep this up.

'For now, wrapping up this series at The Oval on Friday will do.' - Paul Newman, The Daily Mail.

'There were no dark forces at play or a vicious pitch to unnerve batsmen, just occasional movement and some extra bounce. Loping in up the slope from the Pavilion End, Broad simply landed the ball seam up on an awkward length. South Africa's nervy batsman and an agile Matt Prior, who finished with a world record-equalling six catches, did the rest.

'It was a sorry parade, and one made more ironic when Nel, a decent bowler but a ropey batsman, top-scored with 13. After South Africa's defeat in the last match, Jacques Kallis said it was the worst South Africa had played in two years. This performance presumably extends that time frame to before Kallis's debut and only the 69 made against Australia in Sydney in 1993 would seem to match it for ineptitude.

'Stunned by Broad's opening broadside and with Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison able to maintain the pressure, South Africa's batsmen never recovered. That left Prior and Ian Bell to score the 84 needed for victory which they did in 14.1 overs and in enough style to show that the pitch was not sub-standard.' - Derek Pringle, The Telegraph.

'South Africa promised to come back hard following their defeat at Headingley but top-flight sport is not the place where form can be turned on with the flick of a switch. Complacency has been the foremost emotion in the South African dressing room since the team's historic Test series victory at Edgbaston 25 days ago, and it is a mindset that can prove difficult to remove.

'In limited-over cricket Broad continues to thrive. His strike-rate - balls per wicket taken - is up there with the best and the wicket of Smith gave him his 50th in one-day cricket. The main reason he is more effective in one-day cricket is the line he bowls. In Tests the 22 year-old probably aims a fraction too wide, a line that batsmen happily leave alone. In one-day cricket runs have to be scored and batsmen flirt with the same good length deliveries, playing shots that increase the chances of their demise.' - Angus Fraser, The Independent.

'On this occasion, Kevin Pietersen was not required to contribute with bat or ball, but in leading England to this astonishingly comfortable victory, the captain took his side a significant step farther along the path to his brave new world. Stuart Broad's incisive five-wicket burst sent South Africa spiralling towards a dismal 83 all out, their second-lowest total in 406 one-day internationals, then Matt Prior and Ian Bell knocked off the runs with almost embarrassing ease.

'By the time the match finished at 5.35pm, only 37.1 overs had been bowled, the Mexican waves had hardly started and Nottinghamshire did not even have the chance to show off their swanky new floodlights.

'For England, though, Pietersen continues to shine light into previously dark corners, following a Test win in his first game as captain with victories in the first two matches of the NatWest Series. His team are still riding the short-term wave of confidence that his energetic captaincy has brought and if they can hang on for a third success at the Brit Oval on Friday, they will seal a notable series win.' - John Westerby, The Times.

'One by one, England's players are turning up to play for Pietersen, and basking in the praise and affection that he lavishes upon them shamelessly when things go well.

'Steve Harmison has come out of one-day retirement and is bowling with focus, sharing the middle overs with his old mate, Andrew Flintoff. Out of sorts with the bat all season, Flintoff bludgeoned a crucial half-century at Headingley. Here Stuart Broad put a difficult summer behind him with one of England's best bowling returns in one-day history.

'"It is brilliant the way the guys have turned things around since Vaughanie and Colly resigned. I think I am very fortunate to have four guys bowling together at 90mph. They fill the fielders with so much happiness. I am sure that if previous captains had had them firing on all cylinders at the start of their campaigns, I'm sure they'd have been all right."

'A man with a reputation for being a bit mouthy then had the presence of mind to say: "The key to this is not for us to gob off about this or anything, because we haven't won the series."

'England players must be queuing up to have breakfast with him, imagining that a few inspirational words over the muesli can transform their fortunes. Yesterday it was Matt Prior's turn - the Sussex wicketkeeper took a stupendous, springing catch in front of first slip to dismiss Herschelle Gibbs, better than anything he produced in the first, largely unrewarding chapter of his England career.' - David Hopps, The Guardian.

'Suddenly, all is tickety-boo with England. Whether their improbable surge has been caused by the Pietersen factor, South African lassitude, or the desire to emulate British Olympians is difficult to tell - possibly a combination of all three - but so far only one team has turned up in this one-day series.

'In dismissing South Africa for 83 yesterday and reaching their target with all wickets intact, England made a nonsense of the world rankings and of the less mathematically solid proposition that they are completely hopeless at limited overs cricket. Two matches under Kevin Pietersen's leadership and 19 gold medals in Beijing, and anything looks possible.' - Stephen Brenkley, The Independent.