Pietersen Lavishes the Praise After His Bashful Juggernaut Mops Up

This match was slashed faster than London property prices. From 50 overs, to 39, then 33 and finally 20. But the Reduced England Cricket Company still put in a performance that had them cheering in the stalls and circles here yesterday.

At one point it seemed likely that the match would be washed out all together, as rain, thunder and lightning closed in. But Kevin Pietersen must have had a few words because Armageddon dealt Lord's only a glancing blow and when England were set a rehashed target of 137 from 20 overs they were always the favorites.

Owais Shah, Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff is as good as it gets in any one-day batting line-up and, after the openers had made a diffident start, England raced away from the Duckworth-Lewis par score on the board the way that Usain Bolt runs away from his sprint rivals.

Flintoff once again led the way with a man-of-the-match performance despite suffering a back spasm in the morning, and captain Pietersen said: "This was a great performance by the lads. They were exceptional again. They were asked to do a job and they came along and delivered. Winning becomes a habit. We are learning how to win, led by some guys who are playing exceptional cricket at the moment. It's about talent being delivered."

Turning to Flintoff, he added: "He's playing some of the best cricket he's ever played." South Africa's stand-in captain Jacques Kallis concurred. "Fred has been unbelievable. He's a world-class performer on top of his game."

Flintoff himself, who appeared to be collecting 78s after his performances at Headingley and The Oval, looked a little bashful about it all. "I'm doing all right," he said. "I'm not getting carried away after all I've been through. When Kevin asked me to bat five I was over the moon because that's where I've had most success.

"Playing for Lancashire earlier this season I scored four ducks. Looking around the field all I could see were fielders and I didn't know how I'd score a run.

"But by playing more and more I've found a rhythm and a tempo. I feel more at home playing international cricket in some ways. In the past few weeks I've been working with Phil Neale [England's operations manager]. I've been on A and Under-19 tours with him.

"It's been a case of going back to basics, of watching the ball, keeping my balance and not trying to hit it too hard. I'm playing in a more controlled way and it's working."

Pietersen also singled out Shah for a special mention after the player's best score in this NatWest series. "I knew Owais was going to come good," he said. "The stats prove he's a good player and in county cricket a great player. So he deserves to go in three."

Kallis just looked bemused. "We are rebuilding," he said, looked rather fully built himself. "If we lose the series it will take the gloss off the Test series win. Losing 4-0 has taken some of the gloss of it already."

Before England went in the best batting of the day had come from Herschelle Gibbs. This is the man, remember, who once scored 175 from 111 balls when South Africa chased down the outrageous ODI target of 434.

He is desperate to return to the Test fold - he last played against the West Indies in January - but Jean-Paul Duminy is in line for place before that happens.

Yesterday we were reminded of just how good he has been, especially when he went down on one knee and flicked a delivery from Paul Collingwood over his left shoulder and down to fine leg for four. But Flintoff and England trumped him in the end.