Pietersen feels best form is close

Pietersen admitted recently that his best years may be behind him (GETTY IMAGES)

Kevin Pietersen was satisfied with his first outing for South African side Dolphins, saying he felt that his best form was not too far away.

The England batsman, who is looking to regain his touch ahead of this winter's Ashes, scored 36 on day one of the first-class SuperSport Series match against the Warriors in Pietermaritzburg.

The 30-year-old is playing the first of two four-day games with the Durban franchise as part of his preparations for the trip to Australia.

After a quiet start, Pietersen began to show more intent as his innings progressed.

But after hitting six fours, he came down the wicket aggressively to left-arm spinner Jon-Jon Smuts and was caught by Andrew Birch while attempting to go over mid-on.

Speaking afterward he told sports channel, Supersport Blitz: "(It was a) brilliant day's cricket. I started to feel like I use to play.

"That's my goal out here, which is to try and get myself back feeling how I use to play.

"I certainly felt like that today, especially getting from 13 to however many I ended up with. I mean I felt gold today."

The right-hander had a mediocre summer in which he made just one score of over 50 in Test cricket, while his most recent five-day century came against West Indies in March 2009.

The game against the Warriors is in the city of his birth, while Pietersen will also play against the Titans in Durban next week.