Breaking Down Kevin Pietersen's First Month Back in County Cricket

It has been an eventful first month back in county cricket for Kevin Pietersen, even if the biggest story involving him to date has been his issues negotiating London's public transport system.

Pietersen announced his intention to play first-class cricket again in the hope of winning an England recall.

Such was his desire to attract the attention of the national selectors, he agreed a release from his contract with Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, meaning he was available for the start of the domestic summer.

Colin Graves, the incoming chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, offered further hope in a meeting with the player.

After hitting 170 in a warm-up fixture against Oxford University MCCU, Pietersen said, per Jon Culley of The Independent: "He (Graves) has told me he wants the best players playing for England and that there is a clean slate."

So far, however, the big scores in LV= County Championship Division Two have not been forthcoming.

The 34-year-old has played in two matches for Surrey to date. He has scored 112 runs in four innings, though only on two occasions has he been dismissed.

There was an unbeaten half-century in the second innings of an opening draw against Glamorgan in Cardiff, but his first trip to the crease had seen him dismissed by Craig Meschede for 19.

The bowler admitted to Ali Martin of the Guardian that Pietersen still wasn't his biggest scalp: "My maiden first-class wicket was Sachin Tendulkar. It’s nice to add KP to my number. He probably ranks second."

Pietersen did achieve a milestone during his first innings against Essex in the next first-class match.

In the process of making 32, he became the fastest batsman to bring up 1,000 first-class runs for Surrey, reaching the landmark in his 17th innings.

Tom Shaw/Getty Images

His hopes of going on to mark the occasion with a big score were dashed, however, when he was trapped lbw by the medium pace of Jesse Ryder, Essex's overseas player.

So, instead of Pietersen piling on the runs himself, he has instead spent a lot of time watching Surrey team-mates Steve Davies and Kumar Sangakkara filling their boots.

Considering Gary Ballance, Ian Bell and Joe Root—the players currently occupying the spots in England's middle order that Pietersen covets—all hit centuries in the recent Test series in the West Indies, things have not quite gone according to plan for KP.

However, that does not mean the first few weeks of the campaign have been uneventful.

The match against Essex did not go as he would have liked on or off the pitch, as the South African-born right-hander found himself lost at Wraysbury train station while trying to get home.

Pietersen tweeted on several occasions to explain what was happening during his journey:

In the end, as BBC Sport reported, Pietersen had to call his wife to come out and pick him up.

Still, undeterred by his trip into the unknown, he was back on the train again the following day. Second time around, however, he enlisted the help of Surrey colleague Tom Curran to guide him:

"

Oops - round number 2...I have a companion in @tommycurran159 who's going to keep us away from Wraysbury hopefully! pic.twitter.com/QmG3UXsCCF

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) April 28, 2015"

Rain on the final day of the fixture denied the former Hampshire and Nottinghamshire player the chance to spend any more time in the middle, though the early finish did come in handy, according to his tweet:

Pietersen will be hoping he doesn't end up playing down the wrong line when he returns to first-class action; Surrey are hosting Leicestershire from May 10.

His quest for an England return may not be on track just yet, but the timetable of fixtures will give him ample opportunities to impress in the near future.