Kevin Pietersen to part ways with Hampshire
After making a rare appearance for his county club in a Twenty20 match last Sunday, Kevin Pietersen has now announced he’ll be leaving Hampshire at the end of the 2010 season.
Pietersen has been contracted to Hampshire for the past six seasons but with a packed calendar of international commitments, KP has not often been sighted in county colours in recent times. Indeed, last weekend’s Friends Provident t20 match against Surrey, which Hampshire won by 10 runs, was the first time he’d represented the club in two years.
“Given England's critical dependence on 'KP' in all forms of cricket, we have not seen anything like as much of him as we would have liked over the past six years,” Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove said, while wishing the England star success wherever he plays next.
In a statement issued by the club, Pietersen said: "I have not had much opportunity to play for Hampshire but I want to thank the players, staff, chairman and fans, for the support I have had during my time at The Rose Bowl."
London-based Pietersen, it has been reported, has decided to end his association with Hampshire due to geographical reasons, the 90-minute trip down the road to play for The Royals apparently too much for the South African-born player.
That leaves Surrey and Middlesex as the only realistic options open to Pietersen if he’s to remain associated with a county club. The other option is that the dynamic batsmen becomes a free agent, but the absence of a county affiliation would surely not be an ideal situation for the England player, even if he’s seldom spotted in county cricket these days.
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