England batsman Kevin Pietersen hits his first half century of South African tour

Day one (close): England 317-5 dec v South African Invitational XI.

There is a graveyard next to Buffalo Park, the venue for England’s warm-up matches here, though judging from the unyielding nature of the pitch here a fair proportion of those buried there must be bowlers. On Friday, as England’s batsmen sought crucial time at the crease before the first Test, the South Africa Invitational XI took just two wickets.

The usefulness of such a benign work-out will be known only after the start of next week’s Test, but if runs and time at the crease have any value, then Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen will be satisfied after making 100 and 71 respectively, the pair's highest scores of the tour.

“Kevin’s innings was probably the most pleasing aspect of the day because the other guys have been playing recently and in the runs,” Andy Flower, England’s team director, said. “Kevin has been out of cricket and not scoring heavily so him getting in and getting that time in the middle was vital for him,” he added.

“I think you could see as his innings progressed how he looked more balanced and assured at the crease.”

For Pietersen, the runs will have come as a relief. While not hopelessly out of sorts after returning from his long lay-off from injury, even fine batsmen like him like to have their worth reaffirmed through the game’s milestones. The crowd even clapped his half-century, though it may have been ironic given that with him and Jonathon Trott at the crease, there were 13 South African-born players on the pitch.

Having made 25 in the first match here, Pietersen played with forceful ease on Friday, something not always managed by Trott, with whom he eventually shared a partnership of 105. Trott, who replaced Cook following the left-hander’s retirement on 52 at lunch, began by scoring just two runs in an hour, though he did speed up later on.

His hard labour was put into sharp relief, firstly by Strauss, who had no problem piercing the field after lunch, and then Pietersen, who, having arrived at the crease when Trott had made eight from 71 balls, took just three balls to draw level with him after striking namesake Charl Pietersen, for successive fours.

Determined not to take a backwards step, Pietersen looked to force the pace while Trott never appeared frustrated by his crawl, probably because he knows he is a shoo-in at three.

“He was working through his own processes,” Flower said. “I don’t have a problem batting that slowly if it gets him prepared for the Test.”

In fact, England’s top six more or less picks itself for the first Test. The only issue is whether Ian Bell or Luke Wright comes in at No 7 and that will depend on whether Strauss wants four or five bowlers to do his bidding at Centurion.

The bowlers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad among them despite the latter playing in the previous game here, will get their turn on Saturday following Strauss’s overnight declaration.

For those who like clues, the fact that Strauss continued on to his hundred, rather than retiring at 70, meant that Bell and Wright were never going to get much time at the crease. That could suggest England want to play five bowlers in the Test because they remain unsure about Anderson’s knee and therefore want the insurance of an extra bowler.

“I don’t think we need to see any huge volume of overs from Jimmy, today,” said Flower.

“But I’d like him to bowl a couple of reasonable spells and then see the reaction of his knee. He’s upped his workload over the last two days and he’s feeling good about his knee, so it’s looking promising.”