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• Kevin Pietersen to leave Hampshire at season’s end • Middlesex and Surrey linked with England batsman Ever since Kevin Pietersen observed during his only appearance of the season for Hampshire last Sunday that “geographically it just doesn’t work – I live in Chelsea”, his official confirmation today that he would leave Hampshire at the end of the season was only a matter of time. Pietersen’s determination to play in London automatically limits his choice to Surrey and Middlesex. Surrey have the flash and the cash but Middlesex have been rumoured since March to be interested in Pietersen. Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, was playing coy last night. “You’d be a fool not to think about it,” he said. If both negotiations failed, then Pietersen would be in a pickle. There is talk of him going freelance and abandoning county cricket altogether but it would be a foolish move and one that he is not thought to be considering seriously. Although there is nothing in the regulations that insists Pietersen has a county contract, England’s coach, Andy Flower, would expect him to maintain that link. It is still regarded as vital that England players have a county to play for when England deem that they need the practice; no matter that Pietersen has not played a championship match at the Rose Bowl since he made his Test debut in 2005 or that his Friends Provident t20 match on Sunday at the Rose Bowl was his first for Hampshire in two years. Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s chairman, has gradually become hardened to an inevitable parting of the ways. “Given the international schedule we have to adhere to and the England management’s policy of withdrawing players from county cricket in favour of rest and recuperation, we haven’t seen as much of KP as we would have liked over the past six years,” he said. “The ECB’s policy of releasing players for their counties is quite opaque and I don’t understand it.” Bransgrove is also peeved that England have withdrawn Pieterson from a Hampshire Q&A on the eve of the NatWest Series ODI against Australia next Tuesday. “It was 45 minutes and one of the few occasions he was staying locally,” he said. Pietersen’s move is important not for where he might go — if he does join Middlesex, under current arrangements he will barely play for them – as much as what it says about the state of English cricket. Bransgrove’s frustration with Pietersen’s unavailability for t20 cricket is one that all counties would share about their leading internationals. The ECB has relaunched t20 but has been unable to include its top players in it. The public, which spots these things, has responded with suspicion. That will become a central point at issue when the counties again debate the future structure of the game. “The ECB have also shown no commitment to the competition,” Bransgrove said. “Our international player was only available for one game. We really need to grasp the opportunity of t20, but it’s almost gone now.” Of more immediate concern for Hampshire is that Kabir Ali, who has the best strike rate in the county game, will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury. Kevin Pietersen Hampshire Cricket David Hopps guardian.co.uk

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Kevin Pietersen confirms Hampshire exit