Pietersen: It was spectacular
Kevin Pietersen's emphatic start to his reign as England captain reached a new peak with a 10-wicket thrashing of South Africa at Trent Bridge.
Kevin Pietersen's emphatic start to his reign as England captain reached a new peak with a 10-wicket thrashing of South Africa at Trent Bridge.
It was only England's third such winning margin of all time, and put them 2-0 up in the NatWest Series.
Stuart Broad claimed a maiden five-wicket haul in one-day internationals to set up the rout, and Pietersen admitted: "It was spectacular. In the four or five years I have played one-day internationals, we have not hammered a team as convincingly as that. There's an energy and a buzz about us."
The upbeat mood was in stark contrast to that of the start of August, when the South Africans sealed the Test series, and Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood relinquished their captaincy positions.
"The way the guys have turned themselves around has been remarkable," added Pietersen.
Broad claimed five for 23 in a 10-over new-ball spell to help dismiss South Africa for a lowly 83.
His figures were the best of his career, the fifth best by an England player and completely humiliated a South African side who were briefly rated as the best side in the world earlier this year.
"It is great being a part of this bowling unit," said Broad after being named man of the match.
Ian Bell (28 not out) and Matt Prior (45 not out) led England home in just 14.1 overs.
