By Paresh Soni BBC Sport in Antigua

What he does on and off the field may sometimes seem pure showbiz, but Kevin Pietersen can still do the ugly things in cricket.

Pietersen often settled for working the ball into the gaps

In Sunday's match against Australia, the world's top-ranked one-day batsman hit his fourth century in 50-over internationals. None have come in a winning cause, but that's more because of the failings of those around him than anything else.

"His innings was fantastic and a pleasure to watch, it's disappointing that he's on the losing side. It was a tremendous knock and showed what a world-class player he is" was captain Michael Vaughan's verdict.

It was not, however, a typical Pietersen effort by any means.

Of course, there were some trademark eye-catching strokes such as a brilliant straight drive off Shaun Tait and booming shots which brought him 10 runs in two balls off Michael Clarke.

They were the exceptions rather than the norm in an unusually workmanlike knock in which his second fifty took a pedestrian 68 balls.

Test Match Special Blog England should consider having Bell and Pietersen permanently at two and three BBC Sport's Paresh Soni Blog from the Boundary

It confirmed what people within the England camp have long said of the 26-year-old - that he thinks about the game more and works harder than critics claim.

Yes, he loves the sight of the ball disappearing into the distance.

But last summer, that bravado and his technique faced stern examinations from Muttiah Muralitharan and Mohammad Asif, and he emerged a more rounded player.

In Antigua on Sunday, he came face to face with Glenn McGrath for the first time since having his rib broken by the veteran paceman in the Commonwealth Bank Series in January.

The theory which surfaced during a difficult winter, in which the Ashes were surrendered, was that KP didn't like the rough stuff.

Unsurprisingly, the wily McGrath tried to remind him but this time there were no wild charges down the track, just a few jibes for his venerable opponent.

Pietersen shows his delight after reaching three figures

Tait also tried to shake the confident right-hander during an impressive spell in which he regularly bowled at 93-94mph but, apart from one indiscretion, Pietersen held firm.

He offered two chances, one a wickedly difficult opportunity to Ricky Ponting at mid-on off Andrew Symonds and a miscue down the ground off Tait which Matthew Hayden fluffed horribly.

Apart from that, he was the epitome of concentration and caution as he nudged the ball around against the spinners.

"At different times he probably didn't have the support he needed to accelerate," said Australia skipper Ricky Ponting.

"I was a bit surprised he didn't step things up earlier but right the way through the innings he was pretty much run a ball."

606: DEBATE KP is the best player in that team - they have to step up to his level if they want to win things Dion

With wickets falling around him, the temptation was there to launch a panic-induced assault, but Pietersen decided it was more important to try and bat out the overs.

His natural desire to score off every ball means runs will always come, and his scoring chart showed he could dispatch the ball through the off-side as much as his favoured on-side.

Suggestions that England could not win without him were dispelled by the CB Series triumph.