Dropped England batsman will not play in County Championship
Kevin Pietersen will not feature for Surrey in their LV= County Championship Division One match against Middlesex, despite the club asking whether he was available.
Pietersen was dramatically dropped by England for this week's third Test at Lord's after failing to reveal the contents of text messages allegedly sent to South African players during the drawn match at Headingley.
Following that news Surrey inquired as to whether the 32-year-old right-hander would be available for their crucial match against Middlesex, which begins at The Oval on Wednesday.
"After we heard the news earlier this week we asked the question (of whether Pietersen was available)," a Surrey spokesman confirmed.
Not included
However, when Surrey announced their squad for the game on Tuesday afternoon, Pietersen was not included in the 14-man party, although a club spokesman was unable to confirm why, or who had declined their request on his availability.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were also unavailable for comment when contacted.
The ECB had told Pietersen his selection for the England team was dependant on him confirming publicly that no derogatory texts about his team-mates had been sent to South African players, or if they had been sent, to apologise for them.
Pietersen has yet to respond to the ECB's request.
