Kevin Pietersen and English Cricket Back to the Good Old Days

New captain Kevin Pietersen was fantastic in his second game in charge of England, as his brilliant score of 90 n/o helped England beat South Africa by 20 runs in the first of a five-match ODI series.

Pietersen was fantastic with both bat and ball, as he followed up his 90 runs with 2-22 off five overs in South Africa's innings to dismiss the visitors all-out for 255.

The new captain also made another good desicion in bringing Steve Harmison out of retirement to feature in the lineup for the first ODI.

The Durham bowler marked his return in style, claiming the wicket of key Proteas batsman Graeme Smith on his way to good figures of 2-43.

Another player who has seemingly revived his England career under Pietersen is Andrew Flintoff, who made a record 158-run stand with his captain while at the crease, making a fantastic 78 off just 70 balls in the process.

The Lancastrian also seems to have improved his bowling, as he was another player to claim two wickets as he helped push England to victory, claiming the wickets of Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel in the 50th over.

It was a good win for this new-look England side, with key players like Flintoff and Harmison seeming to have revived their England careers.

After having won their second successive game under Kevin Pietersen, the question is: can England sustain such performances?

They may have been revived under new captaincy, but how long will it take before they return to the usual slump as under Vaughan? Will they ever revert back to those performances? And could this England side once again become a great side in the world of cricket?

If anything is certain, it's that England are back, and they're ready and waiting for South Africa in the second one-day international.