Modest Kirsten has little regard for his own ability to win style points and delivered an uncomplimentary summary of his own batting in awkward conditions at Headingley.

Yet his contribution of 109 not out was the cornerstone of the rescue act which resuscitated South Africa from 21 for four to 260 for seven by stumps on day one of a pivotal match in a series level at 1-1 with two to play.

The obdurate left-hander shared in stands of 95 for the fourth wicket with Jacques Rudolph (55) and then an unbroken 118 for the eighth with debutant Monde Zondeki (50no) to frustrate England, who appeared set to bowl out the tourists cheaply after Graeme Smith had chosen to bat first on an initially cloudy day.

It was tough going, Kirsten doing battle with an England attack led by Martin Bicknell on his return to Test cricket after a surprising absence of 10 years.

The Surrey seamer announced his comeback by taking a wicket with his second ball during an opening spell which at one stage brought him figures of two for two from six unerring overs.

It was the sort of battle Kirsten relishes, and after spending more than six hours at the crease in a 273-ball stay so far, South Africa's most-capped player said: "A lot of people say a struggle like that suits my kind of game - to hang in there, play terribly and look awful."

Even so, he rates his 18th Test century among some of the best performances of an outstandingly durable career.

"It is up there. Circumstances dictated that," he said.

"It is always nice to get runs in adversity, because you know you are doing it for the team.

"I am probably a bit more a master of it than anyone, because I look so terrible most of the time."

Conditions in the early overs were pure Headingley - and ideal for Bicknell's recipe of accuracy, seam and occasional swing.

The 34-year-old admitted to some nerves on only the third Test match appearance of a wicket-laden career in which he is approaching the elite 1,000 first-class victim mark.

"The last thing I wanted to do was make a fool of myself," he said.

"Over the last 10 years I have had so many people write nice things about me - that I have been unlucky not to be in the England team.

"I did not want to let anybody down. I have so many supporters out there - and now I have a chance to reward them by putting in a good performance."

Despite the Kirsten-led fightback, Bicknell managed to do that with two top-order wickets and by conceding only 32 runs in 20 overs.

He nonetheless spared a word of congratulation for his immovable opponent.

"When you're out there you're thinking he's just getting in the way and you want to get him out," he conceded.

"But when you come off you have to be full of admiration for a guy who has stuck it out and got a hundred."

Kirsten himself left no-one in any doubt about how difficult he had found things, particularly early on.

"I don't think I have seen the ball seam around as much as it did in that first session at any other time in my Test career," he said.

"I was trying to get something going, and obviously we were in a lot of trouble at 20 for four."

Even so, the number three concurred with the thinking behind his captain's surprising decision to bat first in overcast conditions.

"We just thought even if it does a bit up front we can see it through and things will get easier," he explained.

"But we were 20 for four, so obviously we didn't play that well."

Thanks to Kirsten, the eventual outcome was slightly rather than drastically under-par in a match which looks destined to enthral.

"I don't think 260 is a great total in Test matches on any wicket," he said.

"You would like to get to 400 or even up to 500 - but I suppose 300 is competitive.

"I think it is pretty even. After the first session we probably had the better of things. But with the score 260 for seven you certainly would not say either team is on top - probably in this case it is just England."

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