• KP: I may play for Proteas

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    Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen says he could represent South Africa at the 2019 World Cup.

    In an interview with talkSportDrive, England’s all-time leading run-scorer admitted he harbours hopes of playing for his native country in the next global showpiece, which will ironically take place in England.

    Pietersen, who will become eligible to represent the Proteas later this year, plans to play cricket for at least the next two years, most notably in South Africa’s T20 Global League.

    ‘I’ll play [Twenty20 cricket] in South Africa for the next two years, I’ll play in Australia for the next two years, I’ll play in Pakistan for the next two years,’ Pietersen told talksport’s website.

    Pietersen also said that he plans to spend more time in the country in the coming months and has even begun construction on a house.

    ‘The issue with [playing in] England next year is I’m building a lodge in Africa and the time I’ll be there with my family and doing stuff in Africa is over this period, so I won’t be in England next year.’

    The former Maritzburg College pupil has said that while his short-term focus is on franchise cricket, he will see how things progress.

    ‘I’ll play for South Africa. It’s a possibility, wherever it happens we’ll wait until 2019. All I’m doing now is committing to the franchises. I don’t know, we’ll see.’

    Piers Morgan was one of the first prominent personalities to take to Twitter to announce the news.

    Pietersen, who will be 39 years old at the time of the 2019 World Cup, has scored 4,440 runs in 136 ODIs for England at an average of 40.73.

    His last appearance for England was in the Ashes at the beginning of 2014.

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    Craig Stirton