But there will be plenty of people inside the Wanderers who reckon he should have stuck it out and risen to the top.
"I haven't got any doubts he will be reminded where he comes from," said Boeta Dippenaar, who captained South Africa A yesterday when Pietersen led England to a six-wicket victory with a muscular innings of 97.
It is what he can do, though, that matters most. With no Andrew Flintoff to put oomph into the middle order, England will look to Pietersen to provide some big hitting at No5 when the ball is going soft and getting harder to time.
He has done it for Nottinghamshire, did it once in Zimbabwe before Christmas when making an unbeaten 77 on his second international appearance, and would love to do it here.
England were clear favourites going into the Test series but the one-dayers are far harder to call.
South Africa have lost 11 of their last 12 limited-overs games. All were abroad, however, and their home record is far more impressive, with only five defeats from 23 starts over the past three years.
As well as missing Flintoff, England must do without Steve Harmison for at least the first two games while his calf injury is given time to heal. There is a less than settled look about their oneday outfit with Vikram Solanki, Ian Bell, Geraint Jones, Alex Wharf and Pietersen still trying to establish themselves.
Series: Johannesburg (Sunday), Bloemfontein (2 Feb, day-night), Port Elizabeth (4 Feb, day-night), Cape Town (6 Feb), East London (9 Feb, day-night), Durban (11 Feb, daynight), Centurion (13 Feb)
