Pietersen apologises for Twitter rant

Kevin Pietersen has apologised for the foul-mouthed tweet which followed his omission from England's Twenty20 and ODI squads to face Pakistan.

The South African-born batsman's poor form saw him dropped for the England squads to take on the tourists in five ODIs and two T20s yesterday.

Pietersen broke the news by posting a message on Twitter which said: "Done for rest of summer!! Man of the World Cup T20 and dropped from the T20 side too.. Its [sic] a f*** up!!"

The outburst angered national selector Geoff Miller, who may still reprimand the 30-year-old for the incident.

Pietersen will now play the remainder of the season at Surrey as he attempts to win back his place in the England squad after the ECB brokered a loan deal between the London outfit and the batsman's parent county, Hampshire.

Pietersen admitted he published the message on Twitter by mistake and apologised for his comments ahead of his Surrey debut against Worcestershire today.

"It came out in the way that I didn't want it to come out," Pietersen told Surrey TV.

"It was something that wasn't meant for the public domain and I apologise for it entering the public domain and I also want to apologise for the language I used."

Pietersen went on to say that he had apologised to a number of figures within the England hierarchy about the tweet, which drew criticism from senior figures within the game including former England skipper Michael Vaughan.

"It was a mistake that the tweet went out there," Pietersen continued.

"It wasn't anything against the England selectors or the England set-up.

"I was pretty upset about my own form and frustrated about it too.

"I have spoken to the coach (Andy Flower) T20 captain (Paul Collingwood) chair of selectors (Miller) and the managing director of English cricket (Hugh Morris) and they all totally understand so it's onwards and upwards from now and I'm looking forward to the next two weeks here."

A dazzling performance in England's victorious ICC World Twenty20 campaign aside, Pietersen has toiled with the bat on home soil this summer with an unconvincing 80 in the second Test against Pakistan being his only notable score.

A series of good innings in the county's four remaining fixtures will go some way towards repairing Pietersen's fragile confidence, which he admitted earlier this summer had been "battered" after he stepped down as England captain in January 2009 following a row with then coach Peter Moores.

Pietersen has failed to notch three figures in any form of the game since his resignation and will take time to re-adjust to the domestic game given that today's fixture is only his 12th county game in the last four years.

He is grateful for the London club for giving him a chance to re-build his form and admitted that he understood the selectors' decision.

"Any opportunity to spend some time in the middle is opportunity that I had to grab with both hands so I'm looking forward to it," said Pietersen, whose last 12 months have also been hampered by thigh and Achilles injuries.

"It's understandable that the selectors would like me to play some four-day games because the only first class cricket I have played since my Achilles injury has been in Test matches and it's pretty difficult to play Test matches if you are not at the top of your game.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for me to get back into nick.

"Hopefully I will be able to get five or six, seven knocks in the next two weeks and sort myself out for what will be an exciting winter."

Pietersen was made to wait for his first spell in the middle with his new county as Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bat at the Oval.

The Pietermaritzburg-born batsman looked at ease in the field as he offered advice to Surrey's young bowlers from his position at mid-on as the Lions struggled to hold back a Worcester team who had passed 120 by the 13th over.

National selector Miller, meanwhile, said he had drawn a line under the matter with Pietersen after discussing the matter with the 30-year-old.

"I've had a chat with Kevin. He explained the situation. I'm not too au fait with Twitter, but he explained what had happened and an apology was forthcoming," Miller told Sky Sports News.

"As far as I'm concerned, the matter is now closed. There are certain things I did not enjoy and I let him know those and now we will move on.

"I've had a private and personal conversation with the player.

"We all make errors and we accept that," he added.

"There's nobody in the world that's ever done anything absolutely perfect.

"There were a couple of things I didn't enjoy in it but we talked and the matter is closed and now we will get on with cricket."