Pietersen makes splendid century to lead England fightback in final Test

Pietersen had seen his Test average dip below the 50 mark, which makes batsmen great, and has spent much of the summer tinkering with his technique at a time when he has been open about his determination to accept the £2million on offer to play in the IPL.

Kevin Pietersen celebrates his superb century against New Zealand at Trent Bridge

So a highly-accomplished 115, coming after England's other batsmen had made a mockery of the decision to stick with the same team for the fifth successive Test - a show of faith not seen for 124 years - was perfectly timed both for Pietersen and his team's chances of wrapping up this series.

It has been suggested that Pietersen has taken his eye off the ball by becoming preoccupied with money at the expense of the worldclass batting that he has brought to the England team in the last three years.

Yet, in truth, his relatively poor run has had more to do with teething problems in his attempt at marrying his natural flamboyance with more sturdy methods.

The first day of the third and final npower Test at the Trent Bridge ground where he first demonstrated his rare ability with Nottinghamshire was the ideal stage for Pietersen's 12th Test century, a mixture of his old leg-side flair and the greater solidity he feels he needs against the best bowlers.

It was not enough to lift England into a position of dominance as New Zealand just about justified Daniel Vettori's decision to bowl first by dismissing both Pietersen and Tim Ambrose with the second new ball after the pair had taken England from 86 for five to relative prosperity with a sixth-wicket stand of 161.

But at least England's 273 for seven gives their bowlers something to protect when they again try to make up for the shortcomings of their batsmen, a scenario that has become an unwelcome trend for Michael Vaughan and Peter Moores to ponder.

England's travails, epitomised by the loss of three wickets in the first three overs after lunch, had much more to do with lamentable shots than any swing magic conjured up by the new Trent Bridge stands or even the Kiwis covertly worn 'micro-shine' trousers.

England had retained Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood, the most under-pressure members of the top six, even though the team have been unable to reach 400 in the first innings of the last 11 Tests but both departed without scoring to shots which betrayed their lack of form and confidence.

Happy hooker: Kevin Pietersen hits out on his way to a century

Alastair Cook, pushing at a ball he could have left and inside edging on to his stumps, and Vaughan, who was late on a drive and was bowled through the gate, had set the tone of self-destruction before lunch.

Then Andrew Strauss threw his innings away immediately after the interval with the sort of loose drive that marked his poor run last year.

When Bell played all round a straight one and was lbw and Collingwood pushed nervously to be well caught by Ross Taylor at slip, England were in trouble, even though real swing had been seen only in the first hour.

Enter Pietersen to become the one England batsman to demonstrate the controlled intent that had been a feature of their successful Old Trafford run chase.

Pietersen's first 50 was more fluent than his second and when he reached three figures, with a glorious cover drive off the out-of-sorts Chris Martin, he had recorded his slowest Test hundred, reaching the mark off his 194th ball, at a ground where he had not previously topped 45 in Test cricket.

His first mistake, however, proved to be his last as he gave debutant wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins, who came in at the 11th hour when Brendon McCullum decided his sore back would allow him to play only as a batsman, his first Test catch.

Thanks pal: KP gives a pat to sixth-wicket partner Tim Ambrose

Ambrose soon followed to the cut shot that had provided the bulk of his 67 runs.

Clearly New Zealand have not learned the lesson of Wellington earlier this year when they fed Ambrose's strength - short and wide - to hand him his maiden Test century in his second game.

On that occasion Ambrose's stand of 144 with Collingwood proved pivotal in winning the series for England and the wicketkeeper's sprightly contribution here in partnership with Pietersen could yet have the same affect on this one.

For England to win this match and the series 2-0, however, Ryan Sidebottom and Jimmy Anderson will have to produce the prodigious swing noticeable when they practised ahead of the start yesterday.

Certainly they moved the ball through the air with much more regularity than the Kiwi bowlers managed once the game began, when the tourists were heavily reliant on a bowler who was not expected to play.

Iain O'Brien was felt to be a horse for the Old Trafford course but the Wellington seamer was not only retained but ended up with four wickets and Kyle Mills the other three.

This was only the eighth time a Test captain had decided to bowl first at Trent Bridge but none of the other seven ended up losing. England's carelessness has given Vettori a chance to continue the trend.