Surrey experiment with Pietersen

Surrey obviously felt that Kevin Pietersen was worth the risk to team unity, despite the fact that he might only play a game or two during next season. But they will also be looking closely at tickets, shirt sales and other merchandise to see what impact he has there.

It's interesting too that this news came out after Mark Ramprakash picked up his injury - no doubt talks were already in progress, but I wonder if the Surrey might have discussed his early season availability with the ECB before agreeing this. England's first Test v Sri Lanka isn't until 26th May so although I can't find a 2011 fixture calendar (surely this is in place by now?!), Pietersen could play an important role for Surrey if he can help fill the void left by Ramprakash until the first Sri Lanka Test.