Surrey take Pietersen to benefit England
September 01, 2010 13:39:42 UK
Surrey have claimed that the decision to sign Kevin Pietersen on loan for the rest of the season was taken to benefit England rather than the Oval county.
The 30-year-old was left out of the national T20 and ODI squad's to face Pakistan as England are desperate for their star batsman to regain his form in time for the Ashes this winter.
Surrey chief executive Paul Sheldon explained on Sky Sports News: "We had a call from the England and Wales Cricket Board after they'd decided not to pick Kevin for the Twenty20 and one-day internationals and they asked us if we would accommodate him on loan for the balance of the season, which is two one-day games and two four-day games.
"We were very pleased to oblige. We feel we're here very much to help England.
"This is more about England than about Surrey.
"We want England to win the Ashes and we want KP back in form and if we can assist in that way then we're absolutely delighted to do so."
Sheldon confirmed Pietersen would play in all four of Surrey's remaining fixtures, starting with today's Clydesdale Bank 40 fixture against Worcestershire at The Oval.
Match betting has Surrey at 1.33 to get the win, while Worcestershire are 3.25.
Kevin Pietersen is 3.75 to be Surrey's top team batsman in the match.
Sheldon said: "There's no point in having him unless he's playing.
"We're losing Steven Davies to the England set-up so he will effectively just replace Steven. He won't keep anyone out.
"I think he'll have a huge impact. I think he'll bring a few more spectators in, I think he'll be a great influence on our young players, because we've got a very young side, and of course what we really want him to do is to score lots of runs and get back into form."
With Pietersen severing ties with Hampshire at the end of the season, Sheldon insists the club have not yet given any thought about the future.
"This is very much a short-term plan for us," he said. "Actually we didn't plan for it in the first place, so we're not looking beyond the end of this season."
England are 1.25 to win the Ashes 2010/11, while Australia are 1213.00 and it is 3.75 that the series is drawn.
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