Every Kevin Pietersen boundary comes with a message attached. The words are unspoken, but are as loud and brash and clear as the dyed streak in his hair.
How can it be, they ask, that a man who can hit a cricket ball with such punishing effect has yet to be considered for the England Test team?
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The home team were hiccupping their way towards a likely defeat until the South African-born batsman opened his shoulders in the final 15 overs and dispatched bowlers of the calibre of Jason Gillespie to all parts in a rare display of ruthlessly clean hitting.
"I challenged myself against the best team in the world and it was fantastic," Pietersen said. "It was a do or die situation. If they had got me out it was probably game over."
The right-hander went into the match with an average of 139.50 and had upped that to 162.25 by the end.
His strike rate had increased to 104.84 -- the fourth best in one-day international history, although he is admittedly only 13 games into his career -- and a fourth century would surely have followed if there had been a few more runs than the 253 required for victory.
"I don't think we chased that well apart from Pietersen," captain Michael Vaughan said.
"It was a genius-like innings, to get us over the line with almost three overs left and seven wickets down.
"It was a special innings, very special. He has played some great knocks and he's only been in the team a short while. But today was a pressure situation, playing against Australia.
"He knew he had to see us home and to do it was fantastic. From an England player, I haven't seen many [innings] better."
THREE CENTURIES
The 24-year-old Pietersen, who left South Africa because he was unhappy with the selectors' quota system, had a history of upsetting people with his forthright comments.
He upset his former countrymen, indeed, by hitting three centuries against them at the start of the year and then pointedly kissing his England helmet to underline his new sense of allegiance.
He appears to have learnt, however, that it is best to do most of his talking through the tool of his chosen trade.
He has a burning ambition to play Tests but prefers not to labour the point.
The 'Pietersen for England' bandwagon, though, is gathering speed with the start of the Ashes just a month away.
Ricky Ponting, however, declined an invitation to clamber aboard at the weekend.
"Pietersen played beautifully and got England across the line," the Australia captain told reporters. "Especially with the way the game was, with five, six and seven wickets down. He just kept playing his game and clearing the fence most times. It was an exceptional innings which took the game away from us.
"I haven't seen much of him. I must say I was pretty impressed with what I saw today."
The inevitable caveat, however, followed.
"It's hard to make judgements on what you see in one-day cricket. Test cricket is a vastly different game. I'm sure his technique will be tested differently in the longer game.
"He's a big strong guy and gets around the field well, so he's a good one-day cricketer. But I would like to see him in the longer version of the game before I make a judgement."
FRUSTRATED SYMONDS
Not every player of talent gets the chance to establish himself in Test cricket. Australia's English-born Andrew Symonds is a case in point.
A superb, multi-faceted exponent of the one-day game with 116 caps, he has never made the transition into the longer game.
His late-night antics just before Australia's disastrous opening triangular match against Bangladesh -- behaviour which cost him a two-match ban and a fine -- suggested a certain frustration, perhaps of a player unfulfilled.
For now, Pietersen is going to bed early, taking care to upset no one apart from opposition bowlers.
His message to the England selectors was loud and clear at Bristol on Sunday and he will no doubt hope to keep making the point, with every four and every six, in the days to come.
