Kevin Pietersen served up a timely reminder of his quality when he made 40 not out before light rain and bad light brought a premature end to proceedings in this Division Two match at the County Ground.
Having been cast aside by England following a wretched summer with the bat, it was a welcome return to form for Pietersen, whose sole aim is to convince England coach Andy Flower that he is worthy of a place in the Ashes squad for the tour to Australia.
After completing his loan spell with Surrey, Pietersen will return to his roots in South Africa to play two games for KwaZulu Natal in the CSA Provincial Challenge. If the weather in Bristol relents and Gloucestershire continue to bowl without menace, he will leave for the land of his father in rather better shape than when he pitched up in the West Country on Monday morning.
With the burden of recent failure sitting heavy on his shoulders, Pietersen arrived at the crease with Surrey in a spot of bother at 37 for two. Having caressed his first delivery through extra cover for three, he played with absolute care and attention until the unpredictable Bristol conditions had been mastered.
Resisting the obvious temptation to bash his way out of trouble, he patted back 28 of his first 35 balls.
He went into lunch unbeaten on 16, having lost third-wicket partner Mark Ramprakash for 15, at 45 for three.
Many of Gloucestershire’s former players left their annual get-together to snatch a glimpse of the mercurial magician, and Pietersen duly delivered after lunch with successive boundaries off James Franklin and a colossal maximum over square leg off Anthony Ireland.
Sadly, it was to be the last contribution of the day as the clouds gathered and the rain began to fall.
Still, for the likes of Chris Broad, John Mortimer, David Lawrence and David Graveney there was time to discuss Pietersen’s position and news that Gloucestershire seamer Steve Kirby has agreed to sign for Somerset.