Cricket: Kevin Pietersen savoured his first victory as England captain as his side beat South Africa by six wickets in the final Test.
The newly-installed England captain has enjoyed an impressive first week, encouraging and cajoling his side into dominating the tourists for most of the Test at the Brit Oval to lift spirits again following the disappointment of defeat in the npower series.
For a long time on the final day, as England chased down a victory target of 197 to win, it seemed Pietersen's skills as a batsmen would not be needed.
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook shared a 123-run opening stand, but the loss of three wickets in 42 balls shortly after lunch prompted Pietersen into action.
He fell before the end, but by then the outcome was not in doubt and Andrew Flintoff secured the victory with a six off left-arm spinner Paul Harris.
Pietersen becomes the first England captain since Nasser Hussain in 1999 to claim a victory in his first match in charge.
Following the emphatic defeats in the previous two matches, at Headingley and Edgbaston, England's display represented a significant turnaround in fortunes.
They are next called into action for a Test against India in Ahmedabad on December 11th and the victory should bolster confidence for that match.
They had resumed today on nought without loss, with Middlesex left-hander Strauss knowing the first session of play was likely to define his immediate international future having averaged just 20.33 previously in the series.
After coming through a similar drought to score centuries home and away against New Zealand, Strauss knew the pressure was on him to deliver in his final international innings of the summer - and his last opportunity to persuade the selectors he is worthy of a central contract and place in the tour squad for the trip to India.
Strauss was fortunate that luck was with him during a scratchy start to his innings when he took 19 balls to get off the mark. He then nearly fell for just four when he turned seamer Morne Morkel off his legs straight to Ashwell Prince at leg gully, who had been placed there the previous ball for just such a shot.
This time, though, Strauss escaped. Umpire Aleem Dar signalled a no-ball for over-stepping and Strauss went on to enjoy his biggest opening partnership yet with Cook, eclipsing the 122 they put together against New Zealand at Lord's earlier this summer.
He struggled for fluency throughout his innings while Cook quickly found his rhythm and it was something of a surprise when it was the Essex left-hander who departed first, edging Makhaya Ntini to captain Graeme Smith at first slip for an impressive 67.
Having set such an impressive platform, England seemed in little danger of getting the jitters until Ian Bell, batting in his preferred number three position, lost his leg stump to Ntini six overs later.
With just 50 runs required for victory, the nervousness spread among the 15,000 crowd when Strauss fell for 58 two balls later, caught at leg slip off a bat-pad as he pushed forward to Harris.
It seemed the stage was set for Pietersen to continue his remarkable first week as England captain by also hitting the winning runs to secure his first Test triumph, but he was uncharacteristically quiet during a 35-run stand.
While Collingwood was aggressive from the start, Pietersen was remarkably subdued and fell with just 15 runs required for victory when he was caught at short leg off Harris for 13.
It set the stage for all-rounder Flintoff, Pietersen's only big rival for the affections of the crowd, to walk out to the crease and finish the game in style.
He warmed up for his clinical finish with a nicely-timed late cut for four off Harris and with victory in his sights, Flintoff did not disappoint and hit Harris into the pavilion to complete the first victory of the Pietersen era.
Flintoff's aggression was a definite statement of intent and fulfilled Pietersen's manifesto for positive and aggressive cricket to the letter.
It also ended England's Test summer on a high as they prepare for the end-of-season one-day challenge against South Africa when Pietersen tries to make the same impact on his adopted country's limited-overs cricket.