KEVIN PIETERSEN WANTS TO RETURN TO CRICKET

The English middle-order batsman, Kevin Pietersen, is aiming to make a comeback in Surrey’s three-day game against Cambridge MCCU next week, after recovering from his hernia Injury.

The right-handed player, Pietersen, has not been playing since his early dropout of the ICC Cricket World Cup, in March this year.

The 30-year-old batsman batted for first time since then, in a practice session with Surrey on Wednesday.

Pietersen is also hoping to make his place in the England squad for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from May 26, 2011.  

He was keen to return to the national squad but he claimed that he was not fully recovered yet. While talking to BBC London 94.9, he stated, "I'm not fully fit yet, I've got to get myself back into the swing of things. I'm targeting the game against Cambridge next week but I've got to do a few fitness tests before that."

It is also expected that the player could also feature in Surrey’s County Championship match with Essex, starting from May 18.

"I want to get some time in the middle and some fielding overs in my legs. You can't just go out and play in a Test match. It will just be nice to put some whites back on and to think about cricket. If I get some (runs), I get some. If I don't, I don't.”

He also shared that he is eyeing the first Test match against Sri Lanka, “I want to get all that out the way so that I'm ready for the first Test match."

Pietersen’s nomination for Captaincy was avoided by the England management despite his eagerness to take the charge.

Alastair Cook was appointed as the One Day International skipper after Andrew Strauss stepped down while the Twenty20 side was assigned to Stuart Broad.

Pietersen expressed his happiness regarding the English Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision and congratulated the new captains on his Twitter page, "Congrats to Cookie & Broady on the captaincies.. New era for ENG. Youngcaptains for the future.. Exciting times ahead!!"

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NEIL DEXTER AND JOHN SIMPSON LEAD MIDDLESEX TO AN EASY VICTORY OVER SURREY

Middlesex crushed Surrey by an innings and 42 runs in a match of the County Championship Division Two, at Lord’s, London in England. The home team batted just once in the match, scoring 445 runs, whereas Surrey were bowled out for 203 and 200 respectively, in both their innings.

The captain of the visitors, Rory Hamilton-Brown, elected to field first after winning the toss. There was some moisture beneath the surface of the pitch, but batting became easier as the game progressed.

The start to the Middlesex innings wasn’t an ideal one, as three wickets fell for just 28 runs. Dawid Malan was joined by his captain Neil Dexter and the pair put together 60 runs for the fourth wicket. However, Malan got out after getting a start and the hosts were struggling at 88 for four.

Things weren’t looking good for the hosts at that stage, but wicketkeeper-batsman John Simpson and the home team’s captain rescued their team from trouble, batting sensibly. The pair amassed 254 runs for the fifth wicket, guiding the team’s total to 342. Dexter got out after scoring a terrific innings of 145 runs with the help of 17 fours and two sixes.

Simpson also batted brilliantly, piling 143 runs in his knock. He smashed 21 fours and one massive six.

Gareth Batty was the pick of the bowlers for Surrey, taking five wickets. He got good support from Yasir Arafat, who dismissed three batsmen.

The visitors got off to a terrible start to their innings, losing four wickets for just 19 runs. Hamilton-Brown and Tom Maynard offered some resistance, scoring a 70-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, the Surrey captain was dismissed after adding 47 runs to the total.

There was no other batsman in the lower-order, who made an impression and wickets kept on tumbling. Maynard batted exceptionally well though, scoring an unbeaten 98 runs. He deserved a century, but was left without partners at the other end.

Ollie Rayner bowled well for the hosts, picking up three wickets. He was assisted by tall seamer Steven Finn, who sent two batsmen back to the pavilion.

Following on, the Surrey team was unable to cope with the pressure and the batsmen failed to bat with responsibility. Wicketkeeper batsman Steve Davies was the only one to cause some problems for the bowlers. He top scored the innings with 94 runs, before the whole team was out for 200.

Toby Roland-Jones bowled exceptionally well for his team, taking four wickets in the innings. He was supported well by Middlesex’s captain, who scalped three wickets.

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