Kevin Pietersen has again showed what England will be missing during the World Cup, spearheading the Melbourne Stars to an eight-wicket win over Sydney Thunder at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
Pietersen hit 67 off 42 balls as the Stars easily chased down's the Thunder's below-par total of 8-106 to keep their chances of a Big Bash League semi-final alive.
The Thunder were no match for the in-form Stars, whose claimed the win in the 15th over and whose fourth straight victory moves them up to third on the BBL ladder.
A win over the Perth Scorchers at the MCG next Wednesday, and they could find themselves in the top-two on run-rate differential.
It's all over for the second-last Thunder though, whose finals hopes are gone ahead of their season-ending derby with the Sydney Sixers at the SCG on Thursday.
Captain Eion Morgan refused to answer questions about Pieterson's omission from England's World Cup squad this week, before they meekly surrendered to Australia in the first tri-series match at the SCG on Friday.
And on Saturday Pietersen did his talking with the bat, smashing more boundaries (10) than the entire Thunder line-up.
The Stars, who won the toss and sent the Thunder in to bat, took advantage of the slow drop-in pitch to rip through their opponent's top order.
Left-arm spinner Michael Beer (2-14) claimed the first scalp on just the third ball - bowling Jason Roy for a duck.
And things quickly went downhill from there.
The Thunder found themselves at 3-9 after 3.1 overs - Dan Hughes and star opener Jacques Kallis each dismissed on four runs by former Test quick Jackson Bird.
They were 3-41 midway through the innings and finished 8-106.
It was a target easily met by the Stars, who were 2-108 after 14.3 overs, despite missing James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell to the Australian one-day side.
Cameron White (23), whose controversial dismissal involved a disputed outfield catch by Josh Lalor, in which he left the field and came back again as he caught the ball, and Luke Wright (4) were the only wickets lost.
As such Pietersen did most of the heavy lifting - although he barely broke a sweat.
He even made his bowling debut this season, giving away seven runs in his one-over spell.
Pietersen said he was just happy to "get over the line" after the Stars fell short in the last two matches against the Melbourne Renegades and Sixers.
"I'm playing as good as I have ever played," he said.
"In 2012 I probably had one of the best years of my career in terms of the way that I played and I feel that now I'm playing just as well."
The exiled England batsman believed his recovery from a recurring knee injury was the sole reason for his good form.
"For the last 24 months, since New Zealand 2013 when I messed my knee up, I haven't been the same player," he said.
"When I was playing the Ashes here last year, my knee was horrendous. I was getting jabbed, I was on the physio bed three times a day. It was just a horrendous place to be.
"But now, touch wood, my knee's OK and I'm able to enjoy myself."
Pietersen said he was "not fussed" about not being part of England's Australian tour, even with the knowledge he's playing some of his best cricket.
"Believe me, I'm having the best time of my life," he added.
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