Pietersen does not want the row to affect his international prospects

There has been deadlock ever since the club turned down his request for a release from his contract, which runs until the end of the 2004 season.

"We see Kevin as an integral part of our plans this summer and we do not expect our position to change," said Director of Cricket Mick Newell.

Pietersen qualifies to play Test cricket for England in September.

He was the star of the recent England A tour to India, hitting four centuries, and it is believed he may now ready to abandon his bid to leave Trent Bridge.

"I've got to look at the big picture, which hopefully means playing for England later on in the year.

Feature: Pietersen primed for international career

"There is no way I'm going to miss the start of the season, even if that means staying with Notts," the Guardian newspaper quoted Pietersen as saying.

Pietersen's legal team recently served papers on the club with a view to pursuing a claim for unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal.

But Notts chief executive David Collier said: "We are advised by our lawyers that such action is out of time and unlikely to be allowed to go ahead."

South African-born Pietersen has scored 4,468 first-class runs at an average of 54.48 during his career and hit four centuries in each of the past three seasons for Nottinghamshire.

But he was involved in a row with skipper Jason Gallian on the final day of the season, when Nottinghamshire were relegated to Division Two of the County Championship.

And the bad feeling between him and the club stems from that incident.