 Pietersen says Hampshire is too far away from his London home |
England quartet Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook and Graeme Swann have been made available for Friends Provident t20 finals day. However, Pietersen may not feature for Hampshire after announcing that he will leave at the end of the season. Hampshire meet Cook's Essex in the first semi-final at their Rose Bowl home on Saturday. Nottinghamshire, the county of Broad and Swann, then meet last year's beaten finalists Somerset. Pietersen announced his intention to leave Hampshire in June. Since then, the 30-year-old has only been available to play for the county once - a Clydesdale Bank 40 game against Kent - but he was not selected. Opening batsman Cook, 25, is badly short of runs having made seven successive Test scores under 30 but is still likely to take his place in the Essex side. Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell has already confirmed his intention to include Swann and Broad, saying: "We will select the best players available to us, and Stuart and Graeme will add significant strength to our team. "We've used a lot of players to get to finals day and everyone has made a good contribution. "I'll talk to the players who will have to make way for Stuart and Graeme. But everyone understands we will pick the team that will give us the best possible chance of winning the match and progressing to the final." All four players are expected to return to the England squad on Sunday for preparations for the third Test against Pakistan, which begins at The Oval on Wednesday, 18 August.
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