Surrey County Cricket Club have resisted the temptation to draft Kevin Pietersen in to their LV= County Championship squad to travel to Worcestershire.

Pietersen, who has only been playing Twenty20 cricket since being axed by England last year, had said that he wanted to help Surrey get promoted to Division One.

However, Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart told the club website: "We discussed it, [head coach] Graham Ford and myself, the possibility of bringing Kevin in.

"But realistically, we've got just an outside chance of promotion.

"So it's better for the future of the club if we give the likes of an an Aneesh Kapil or Arun Harinath two first-class games to gain more experience to see how they can progress - which will stand us in good stead for next season."

Surrey are currently third in Division Two.