Has Kevin Pietersen lost the will to win?

So it all comes down to the final Test in England's series against South Africa, a series that has been tense, dramatic and controversial, with England defending a 1-0 lead. The action has been relentless, the excitement at times unbearable and all in all, it will go down as a classic in the annals of Test cricket. Unless you're name is Kevin Pietersen.

As South Africa and England prepare to do battle tomorrow at the famous Wanderers Ground in Johannesburg, Pietersen is the only member of the England side who will look back on the first three Tests with scant satisfaction. The 29-year-old has managed just 158 runs in five innings (with a top score of 81 in the drawn first Test) at an average of 31,  this from a player whose overall Test match average is 49.

Pietersen walks with a swagger and talks with a belief that suggests an indomitable man. But like a lot of outwardly confident people, beneath the bravado lies fragility, which is why teammates and former England players have taken time lately to publicly massage Pietersen's bruised ego. Paul Collingwood said of him this week: "He's a kind of genius, and when he goes a couple of games without a score people say he's in terrible nick. He can turn it on – and we hope it will be this game."

Former England legend and now Sky Sports Commentator David Gower says of Pietersen that "the talent has not left him and he has bundles of that"; he just needs to be reassured of his brilliance by captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower - in other words "a bit of good old-fashioned TLC".

Perhaps the most perceptive comments on Pietersen have come from Mike Atherton, the former England captain who now writes for the Times. Atherton says that Pietersen will be offered no mercy tomorrow. The bulk of South Africans have never forgiven the Pietermaritzburg-born Pietersen for aligning himself with England, birthplace of his mother, over his native land, and witnessing his current travails has been their only joy of an otherwise miserable series.

Atherton, who in 1995 batted for 11 hours at the Wanderers to save a Test for England, knows all about the intimidating nature of the ground they call the "Bullring". But the abuse Pietersen will receive as he walks out to bat isn't the problem confronting England's most gifted batsman. Nor is it his technical flaw, revealed in this series, that has led him to play across the line on more than one occasion.

The malaise at the heart of Pietersen's lack of form is more serious, says Atherton. "What is obvious is that something has changed within Pietersen, and that something has not simply been caused by the immediacy of South Africa's assault on his confidence."

The fire, the hunger, the greed for runs no longer appears to be there, nor does the single-minded determination to be the world's greatest batsman. In short, the selfish drive that characterises great sports stars is on the wane in Pietersen. "He is happily married, a soon-to-be father and has enough money to while away the rest of his life wondering how good he might have been," says Atherton. "He is settled in a way that he was not when he burst on to the scene with a skunk haircut and a point to prove."

Not so long ago Pietersen lived for attention and thrived under pressure, never more so than during the unforgettable Ashes of 2005 when his magnificent 158 at the Oval clinched the series for England. But he was a young man back then, eager to make his mark in life. Now he's approaching 30 and there are more important things in his life than cricket. Can he rediscover his focus by Thursday and be England's dashing matador to South Africa's charging bull? We'll soon find out. ·