No Championship for Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen will not play Championship cricket for Surrey in the closing weeks of the season, with the county's promotion challenge out of their hands.

Last month it was suggested that Pietersen would return to first-class cricket for the final two matches of the season, partly to help Surrey try and get back into Division One and also because of the realisation that he needed to find more cricket than had been possible as a T20-only player to maintain his form.

Further discussions were had between Alec Stewart, the director of cricket, and coach Graham Ford this week but it has been decided that with Surrey's chances of going up reliant on results elsewhere - even though they lie third and play the leaders, Worcestershire, this week - they are better off planning for another season of Division Two cricket by giving young players such as Aneesh Kapil, who scored a maiden first-class hundred against New Zealand A last week, the chance to gain experience.

Stewart told Surrey TV: "We discussed the possibility of bringing in Kevin but realistically we've only got an outside chance of promotion so it's better for the future of the club if we give the likes of Aneesh Kapil or Arun Harinath two first-class games to gain more experience to see how they can progress which will stand us in good stead for next season."

Pietersen's T20 Blast season was disappointing with 225 runs at 22.50 and a high-score of 39.