Kevin Pietersen returned to his vintage best across an innings of utter dominance as England throttled the Australians on day three of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide on Sunday.

Discounting a supposed weakness against left-arm spinners and taking on anything and everything on pull, Pietersen attacked Xavier Doherty and Peter Siddle at every turn, while offering Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger due respect in going to 213 not out.

Shrugging off Ricky Ponting's desperate call for an early review, promptly adjudged to have pitched outside off-stump by a Country Mile, the resurgent right-hander tormented the hosts alongside Paul Collingwood (42) and then Ian Bell (41 not out) as the holders of the coveted urn - and best bet to retain it - closed on 551 for four.

With the relatively early departure of Alastair Cook for 148, who perished at the hands of Ryan Harris' nip off the seam and a spectacular catch off the inside edge from the acrobatic Brad Haddin, in the bank, the Aussies otherwise depleted body language soon perked up.

However, hands on hips and heads soon returned as Ponting's posse endured a slew of shaky ground fielding - and injury concerns - across the opening session to aid England's ascendancy. While Harris battled through a strain to his shoulder, Simon Katich - crocked heel and all - opted for the safety of the dressing room.

If England hadn't already seized the initiative hadn't already been seized, Pietersen well and truly took it away from the opposition with a wonderful display of characteristic flamboyance.

'Flamingo' flays through square-leg and pinpoint strokes a heavily guarded off-side coupled with lofted dinks and near perfect on-drives added flair to a century hardly short of entertainment as it was.

His first ton in his last 28 Test knocks duly celebrated by an emotional leap, yelp, fist to the air and bow to fans and critics alike, the ever-under fire 30-year-old proceeded to tuck into any bowler - bar Harris - set before him.

After the right-arm seamer had kept him honest with a couple of sharp bouncers, Pietersen raced from 100 to 150 in powering England to 449 for three at lunch, with Paul Collingwood's sideshow effort of 40 not out doing its bit. Rattled by a first-session run-rate of more than five to the over, the bowlers' depletion was easily noticeable.

Not say that they hadn't received any help from the pitch, though. A track that had offered the fielding side almost nothing across days one and two was by now lending some decent rip to Doherty and fellow spinner Marcus North, while Harris and Bollinger were consoled by marginal hints of reverse swing.

The resumption of play after a quick bite to eat brought momentary joy for the home side as Shane Watson, entirely under-bowled on Sunday, trapped Collingwood lbw dead enough in front of off-stump for him to not try his hand at the Umpire Decision Review System.

A 101-run partnership ended and Ian Bell there to be pegged back early on, Australia instead found themselves at the receiving end of more boundaries as Bell joined the impending double-centurion in taking the attack to the bowlers.

Whereas their unbeaten 99-run stand was hardly as unrelenting as the one orchestrated by Pietersen and Collingwood, the duo made merry at 3.90 to the over nonetheless.

While Pietersen's triumphant herald of his century relayed due relief, his bodybuilder-esque pump of the bicep effectively told the Aussies to 'stick it'.

Having passed the highest Test score at the ground - that 206 by Collingwood four years ago - and really starting to take aim at much greater heights through midwicket and surrounds, Pietersen's statement knock was unfortunately - for English fans, that is - temporarily halted by rain in Adelaide as the entire third session was washed out.

More showers are forecast for Monday, so Andrew Strauss - in consolation with his fellow members of his beloved brains trust - will ponder a declaration earlier than originally planned. Given the ineptitude of Australia's first-innings 245 all out, England's 306-run lead seems more than enough. Meanwhile, the spin and seam James Anderson and Graeme Swann witnessed from the comfort of the pavilion across the weekend will have them pretty confident of taking 10 Australian wickets.

Shot of the Day
The long-off fence on either side of the Adelaide Oval is no small find by any measure, with Pietersen's dance down the track to plunder Doherty over the top for six hammering home his newfound confidence against left-arm spinners, or this one at least.

Delivery of the Day
Not many beat the bat on Sunday, nor were there many edges. However, Harris' cracker to send Cook packing was a beauty. By and large carrying the Aussie attack across this match, the right-armer pitched it on a penny and enjoyed just enough seam movement to near cut the left-hander in half. Haddin's heroics behind the stumps did the rest.

Defining Moment of the Day
While the choice to exclude Michael Clarke from the attack in a bid to look after his back strain is understandable, one has to question Watson's mere six overs in the day - and 19 in the innings. One would've thought his corker to get rid of Collingwood would've warranted another spell or two.

Jonhenry Wilson