The way Jonathan Trott has started in South Africa has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Scoring runs in the country of his birth was never going to be an easy task but the early signs are that, just like Kevin Pietersen nearly five years ago, he is determined to make his mark.

Sure, he would have liked to get a ton under his belt but three fifties from five knocks is still a significant return for Trott who, like most batsmen, feeds on confidence.

Sweet spot: Trott has proved a hit at number three so far on tour

Trott, born in Cape Town, is more of a worrier than Pietersen who is a hyper-confident, in-your-face sort of guy that relishes the challenge, the pressure.

He doesn't seem to fear anyone or anything - in that sense he's abnormal and also inspirational. There is no bravado with him - what you see is what you get. I'm in awe of the way he goes about his business.

His presence alongside Trott and Eoin Morgan gives England a middle-order that looks sharp and with Andrew Strauss playing well at the top of the order the batting seems to have come on since the summer.

Unit

Having Pietersen around will help Trott acclimatise to his first senior tour because he's been there before and thrived.

Born in Natal, he returned to South Africa to dominate the 2004/05 one-day series, scoring three centuries and nearly 300 more runs than any other England batsman despite all of the stick he received for switching allegiances.

Pietersen will continue to get most of the flak out here simply because he is the much bigger name. That was pretty clear when he was on the boundary in Sunday's second Twenty20 in Centurion.

His presence will deflect a lot of the attention from Trott and help the Warwickshire batsman to sneak under the radar. The one thing you don't want to do on a tour like this is have the focus on you for the wrong reason - especially if that reason is poor form.

The squad should also learn an important lesson from that 2004/05 series; despite Pietersen's heroics England lost 4-1 and they cannot afford to rely on him in the same way.

England showed they can bat effectively as a unit in Tuesday's victory over South Africa A when they chased down 280 and that's just as well because a total of 300 is becoming the norm in 50-over cricket thanks to the influence of flat pitches and power-plays.

If the tourists bat first on Friday and get 300 we no longer think 'game over', whereas in the old days you might. England will need to fire as a unit because aside from a tired surface at Port Elizabeth and the difficulty of batting under lights at Cape Town, the pitches could be very, very flat.

Confident

Such benign batting conditions will, of course, put extra pressure on both bowling attacks and this series depends hugely on which unit performs best.

It will be a considerable blow to England if James Anderson's right knee continues to trouble him. His experience is a real asset to the side and until England find a bowler capable of replacing Andrew Flintoff as a wicket-taker his presence is crucial.

So Liam Plunkett's call-up to the squad could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. There were whispers doing the rounds at the first two Twenty20 games suggesting he should maybe have been in the original one-day squad.

A few of the Durham boys have said Plunkett bowled very well in one-day cricket for them this season so I see it as a good selection.

He's a good all-round cricketer, a little bit better than when he first played in 2005. He will go for boundaries - he's that type of bowler - but he will also pick up wickets.

Despite their injury concerns England have now won each of their three 50-over warm-up matches and are playing well so they can be confident of starting the five-match one-day series on the front foot and if Trott continues to thrive, that's all the better.

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