Pietersen announced his shock retirement from the shorter formats of international cricket, at the age of just 31, earlier this summer. He initially wanted to call time only on 50-over cricket and carry on in Twenty20, but the terms of ECB central contracts prevent players picking and choosing their formats.

Earlier this week, Pietersen said he “would love to play for another three or four years in all forms of cricket” — but only if something could be “sorted out” about the “nightmare” schedule.