Pietersen incapable of halting his downward slide

Ian Bell's evisceration by a superb ball from Dale Steyn was deflating enough but England's worst, and widening nightmare, is the continued deterioration of both Kevin Pietersen's confidence and timing. The key was Steyn's ability to undermine English confidence almost every time he ran in, writes James Lawton in the Independent.

The sadness of seeing a player who owns the possibility of greatness slipping away from the height of his powers, at a time when he should be moving towards the zenith of his talent, is acute in any circumstances. There was, however, a still sharper poignancy here when you remembered that this is a ground where Pietersen first returned to his homeland in the colours of England and not so much endured the derision of his former compatriots but turned it against them with brilliant strokeplay and apparently the lightest of hearts.