England off to a flier with Bell and Prior

Kallis was right, too, because the new ball swung for both Dale Steyn and Ntini. But after a tight over apiece the pair came under heavy attack from England's openers.

Bell drove and pulled Steyn for boundaries to get the scoreboard moving, soon followed by a bizarre over from Ntini costing 17 runs. It included one wide and two free hits for no-balls, which Prior edged for four and hoisted for a straight six. Although the ball still occasionally beat the bat, runs flowed so freely that England had 50 on the board from 45 deliveries.

Bell, having started unpromisingly by playing out a maiden against Ntini, brought up the first significant landmark by thick-edging the same bowler for four. But the Warwickshire batsman was only warming up.

A glorious extra-cover drive, all along the ground, was followed by an offdriven six and a square cut for four as Bell completed a terrific 36-ball 50.

England have been guilty, far too often, of not making nearly enough use of the 'power plays' but today they had 77 on the board after 10 overs.

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur made a point of praising the opposition yesterday, saying that Pietersen's team were clearly on the up. But while England's middle-order batsmen and fast bowlers have taken most of the praise, today's first-wicket partnership represented another important step forward.

The fun ended immediately after the century stand had been posted. Albie, the all-rounder in the Morkel family, gained enough bounce to defeat Prior's attempt to pull and the ball looped up for Herschelle Gibbs to take the catch, diving forward.

Kallis gambled by not delaying the remaining two 'power plays' when some captains would have opted to give their bowlers a bit more protection in the deep. But Prior's departure, and good work from the Morkels, justified his decision with the second block of 10 overs yielding a more modest 49 runs.