England batsman Kevin Pietersen celebrated his first Test against his native South Africa on Thursday with an imperious 104 not out on the opening day of the first Test at Lord's. Pietersen survived a blow on the side of the helmet from Dale Steyn early in his innings to bat with increasing authority on a sun-dappled afternoon. He was ably supported by Ian Bell, under pressure to retain his Test place, who contributed an unbeaten 75 in an England total of 309 for three at the close. The pair came together with England wobbling slightly at 117 for three after an opening partnership of 114 between Andrew Strauss (44) and Alastair Cook (60). Bell was initially the more fluent of the pair but it was Pietersen who seized the moment after tea. Pietersen profited from some friendly slow-arm bowling from Paul Harris, striking a four and a six off successive balls. He crashed Steyn through the off for four then reached his half-century from 73 balls with a sweep for two off Harris followed by another boundary. Bell lingered for 43 minutes in the 40s before reaching his 19th Test half-century and Pietersen was also restricted by accurate fast-medium bowling from Jacques Kallis. He regained the initiative by flicking Kallis to the long-on boundary, swept Harris fine for another four and welcomed Steyn's return with a boundary to long-on. His 13th Test century duly arrived with a four through the covers off Morne Morkel, greeted joyously by batsman and crowd alike. Pietersen rated the innings alongside the unforgettable 158 he scored against Australia at The Oval three years ago to ensure England won the Ashes. “It was exactly the same feeling I had in the 2005 Ashes,” he told a news conference. “It ranks right up there. “The crowd just kept going, I had to pull away and show my appreciation again. Right now, sitting here now, I feel as English as anybody.” The first three hours of the opening day in the four-Test series also belonged to England after Graeme Smith had won the toss and opted to give his bowlers first use of a pitch with plenty of moisture underneath after two days' steady rain. Steyn touched 145 kms an hour in his second over but the ball was leaving the pitch sluggishly and the England openers approached their task with a disciplined determination not to be drawn into rash shots outside the off-stump. Instead they profited by some wayward bowling from Morkel, who had trouble adapting to the Lord's slope. Morkel generated impressive speed from a springy runup and high delivery but sprayed the ball both sides of the stumps. Cook took boundaries square of the wicket while Strauss continued to defend and the pair saw their team through to lunch at 71 for no loss. The South Africans bowled with more control after the interval, headed by their senior bowler Makhaya Ntini from the Nursery End. Strauss brought up the century partnership with a firm off-drive for four and the total reached 114 before England endured a mini-collapse with three wickets falling in 13 balls. Morkel dismissed Strauss, lbw shuffling across his stumps, captain Michael Vaughan was comprehensively bowled by Steyn for two and Cook was caught after batting for 132 balls with nine fours. Morkel, extracting bounce from a typically benign Lord's pitch, bowled two deliveries which jagged in sharply to the left-hander. Cook, jumping awkwardly in defense, lobbed the second into the slip cordon where AB de Villiers took a simple catch. That was as good as it got for South Africa who showed its lack of recent match practice despite some whole-hearted efforts from Steyn and Ntini. – Reuters __
