Kevin Pietersen, the man with the Midas touch according to one of his team-mates, can win his maiden international series as England captain at the first opportunity if his team continue to dominate South Africa at the Brit Oval today.

Having won the first two one-day internationals with ease, England will look to turn the thumbscrews on the touring team, who confirmed yesterday that Graeme Smith, the captain, will miss the match - and probably the rest of the series - with an elbow injury.

All good things come to an end, but South Africa's record in one-day cricket has been outstanding of late. Since the start of 2005 - not including the World Cup - they have lost only two series and won 14, including their past five. Coincidentally, their most recent defeat, in the Future Cup by India in Belfast last summer, happened not under Smith's captaincy but under the temporary leadership of Jacques Kallis, the man who replaces him today.

The all-rounder stood down as vice-captain last year after being dropped from their Twenty20 squad, but, with Mark Boucher the only other obvious candidate to replace Smith, Kallis has decided to put aside hurt feelings.

“It is something I enjoy,” he said of captaincy. “It is not always easy when coupled with the responsibilities of being an all-rounder. I have done it before at both one-day and Test level and will be up for the challenge.”

Kallis stood in for Smith in one Test and three one-day internationals in 2006 as well as four matches in Ireland last year, but although he has won five of his seven one-day internationals as captain, four were against Zimbabwe and Ireland. He lost the Test to Australia in Johannesburg by two wickets and suffered two defeats by India in the final over to lose the Future Cup 2-1.

Mickey Arthur, the South Africa head coach, said yesterday that Smith had been struggling with his elbow problem since before the final Test match three weeks ago. “Graeme has been pretty much playing on borrowed time with his elbow, unfortunately,” Arthur said. “He tried to battle it as much as he could, but after Trent Bridge [where South Africa lost by ten wickets on Tuesday] we just realised he couldn't go on any more.”

Smith will stay with the squad, but is expected to miss the rest of the series and may have surgery to prepare him for South Africa's series against Bangladesh and Australia this winter.

One of the reasons for England's renaissance under Pietersen has been the captain's ability to inspire previously difficult team-mates and Stephen Harmison gave the captain another boost yesterday by announcing that he would be available to tour India and the West Indies this winter. After struggling at the start of England's tours to Australia and New Zealand in the previous two winters, many wondered whether Harmison's well-documented homesickness would prevent him from ever bowling well abroad. He declared yesterday that he was fit and ready to travel.

“I've enjoyed coming back, so I'm now in the selectors' hands,” Harmison said. “If I get selected to go to India, I'll be on the plane.”

Harmison took four wickets on his return to the England Test team this month and has taken four more in the past two one-day internationals.

“I've got four young children and I miss them dearly when I go away, but it's a lot more stable now,” Harmison, who retired from one-day cricket in 2006, said. He praised his captain for bringing him back into the fold, saying: “He [Pietersen] seems to have the Midas touch and long may that continue.”

How they line up

England (from): K P Pietersen (captain), M J Prior (wicketkeeper), I R Bell, O A Shah, A Flintoff, P D Collingwood, R S Bopara, L J Wright, S R Patel, S J Harmison, S C J Broad, J M Anderson, A N Cook, G P Swann, T T Bresnan.

South Africa (from): J H Kallis (captain), H M Amla, H H Gibbs, A B de Villiers, J P Duminy, M V Boucher (wicketkeeper), A Morkel, V D Philander, J Botha, M Morkel, D W Steyn, M Ntini, J C Ontong.

Umpires: N J Llong and S J Taufel (Australia).
Third umpire: P J Hartley.
Match referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka).
Television: Sky Sports 1 (from 10.30am).
Weather: Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Maximum temperature 23C.

Explore Cricket

• Counties

• Live Scores