Paul Collingwood and Jonathan Trott's stand of 162 eased England to a seven-wicket victory at Centurion to go 1-0 up in their five-match one-day international series against South Africa.

England's third-wicket pair proved the virtue of sensible batting on a pitch of slightly uneven but mostly sluggish pace as they made light of what had appeared an awkward target of 250 for nine.

Their task had a still more difficult look to it once Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen were both gone with only 45 on the board, but Collingwood (105 not out) marked his record-breaking 171st ODI appearance - one more than England's previously most prolific, Alec Stewart - in inimitably artisan but winning style.

He was adding his fifth ODI hundred to important earlier work in the field in a South Africa innings propped up by half-centuries from Hashim Amla (57) and Alviro Petersen (64).

Trott (87), meanwhile - pushed up to open the batting in only his second match at this level - was equally skilful in showing his native South Africa what they are missing. Strauss fell in the eighth over when he aimed to clip Charl Langeveldt to leg but instead looped a simple catch to point off a leading edge.

That brought Pietersen to the crease, to a predictably mixed reception from a partisan crowd in the country of his birth.

He got under way with a trademark whipped drive through straight midwicket off Langeveldt but was unable to add to that boundary before trying the same trick against new bowler Albie Morkel and getting a thin inside edge on to leg-stump.

But Trott and Collingwood were in no mood to panic, content to simply keep England in the equation with accumulation.

Trott passed a workmanlike half-century, in the knowledge this need not be an occasion for big-hitting heroics.

Collingwood did take the long handle to Langeveldt for a six, clubbed from back in the crease high over long-on on the way to a 108-ball hundred which contained another maximum and seven fours to steer England home with four overs to spare.