Kevin Pietersen returns to Surrey for one last time

People were in a shock as England’s big hitter Kevin Pietersen had announced the coming summer’s county season as his last season in England. Kevin Pietersen will play county cricket for the first time in two years after agreeing to a deal to return to Surrey. Pietersen had announced a return to England’s domestic scene earlier this year, eschewing the Caribbean Premier League in favor of remaining close to home.

Pietersen Returns

Pietersen, Finch and Sangakkara or Henriques will form a powerful Surrey batting combination with England’s limited-overs opener Jason Roy. Kevin Pietersen has hit his first ball on British soil for more than two years, reported cricket.com.au. Pietersen returned to training on Tuesday with county side Surrey ahead of this month’s domestic T20 competition.

Wielding his customized rhino-themed Spartan bat in his continuing campaign to raise awareness of animal poaching, Pietersen on Tuesday joined Surrey teammates for the outdoors net session.

Relationship with Surrey

Pietersen will play for Surrey in the Natwest Blast competition. The Melbourne Stars crowd favorite last played for Surrey in a June 2015 T20 match. It is a coup for the Natwest Blast to sign a player of Pietersen’s calibre, particularly as he did not enjoy his most recent experience of playing in the competition.

Surrey and Pietersen have remained close during his Twenty20 globetrotting years following his final sacking by England in 2015.

Kevin’s Past Records

The South African-born big hitter last played for England in the 2014 Ashes which England lost 5-0, Pietersen averaged only 29 and passed fifty only twice in ten innings. Pietersen has played 104 Tests with 8181 runs at a terrific average of 47.29 and has also played 136 ODI games in which he averages more than 40.

The right-hander has also represented England in 38 T20 games and scored 1264 runs with an average of more than 40.

And although the competition gets underway on Friday, Pietersen will not appear for another fortnight for the July 19 home match against Essex at the Oval, Surrey’s fifth game of the tournament.