Cricketer KEVIN PIETERSEN "vowed to do everything in his power to force an England recall, beginning with an avalanche of runs in county cricket, after being released from the bulk of his commitments" with Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad, according to Ali Martin of the London GUARDIAN. The 34-year-old, who has been in exile from int'l cricket for 13 months, "is expected to be announced as a Surrey player on Wednesday." Pietersen’s ears "were pricked at the start of the month" when incoming England & Wales Cricket Board Chair COLIN GRAVES insisted that "any talk of a return was moot unless Pietersen secured a domestic deal and scored heavily in first-class cricket" (GUARDIAN, 3/24). In London, Nick Hoult wrote his advisers "will now look to tie up a deal with Surrey over the next 48 hours." Negotiations "have taken longer than expected but Pietersen signed a legally binding contract with the IPL when he was bought in the player auction last month and there was the possibility of being sued for his IPL fee" if he did not fulfill his commitments. Test captain ALASTAIR COOK "opposes a return for Pietersen" and said last week that playing for England again would be "highly unlikely" after his criticisms of teammates and the ECB in his book last year (TELEGRAPH, 3/24). REUTERS' Michael Hann wrote Pietersen said that "his agreement with Hyderabad will allow him to miss the IPL's league fixtures but he could be recalled should the team reach the knockout stages of the competition" (REUTERS, 3/24).
