Going by England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s press conference at the end of the second Test against South Africa at the Oval, the flamboyant cricketer could be playing his last game for his adopted country at Lord’s next week.

And that, like Pietersen admitted on Monday, would be a “huge shame”. Sure, he is an attractive one-day player, but he oozes of class in a more emphatic way in the longer version.