LONDON,  (Reuters) – Batsman Kevin Pietersen was  dropped by England yesterday for the first time in his career  and will move from Hampshire to Surrey on loan for the rest of  the county season.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) omitted the  30-year-old right-hander from the squads for the Twenty20  internationals against Pakistan which start on Sunday and the  five one-dayers that follow.

“Kevin Pietersen has been omitted from both squads as we  feel that his game would be best served by getting as much  cricket under his belt as possible before a long and challenging  winter,” national selector Geoff Miller said.

“The remainder of the county season is an ideal opportunity  to do just that…

“Kevin has proved on numerous occasions that he is a world- class player and we know he’ll benefit from getting more time in  the middle to work on his batting and get his game back to the  level he has shown throughout his career.

Pietersen, part of the Twenty20 World Cup-winning side this  year and voted the player of that tournament, had earlier  declared on Twitter that he was “Done for rest of summer. Man of  the World Cup T20 and dropped from the T20 side too.”

The South African-born player, who made his debut for  England in 2004, also used an expletive in a ‘Tweet’ that was  subsequently deleted — but not before the content had spread  rapidly through the media.

“NATURALLY

DISAPPOINTED”

England under-19 captain Azeem Rafiq, who plays for  Yorkshire, was fined 500 pounds ($770.3) and banned from all  cricket for a month earlier in August for criticising team  manager John Abrahams on his Twitter feed.

“While I’m naturally disappointed to have been omitted from  the England squad I fully understand the reasons why and will be  doing everything I can to get back into the England team,” he  said in the ECB statement.

“I have no issue with the selectors omitting me from the  limited-overs squads and my sole focus now is working on my game  ahead of an exciting winter.”

Pietersen has passed 50 for England just once this season  and the last of his 16 test centuries was scored against West  Indies in March, 2009.

A break from internationals would give him time to get more  first-class cricket under his belt before the start of the Ashes  in Australia in November.

Pietersen spoke this month of a personal crisis in which he  said he had fallen out of love with the game after struggling to  score runs and having to re-adjust to the ranks after losing the  captaincy.

Pietersen quit as captain 18 months ago in controversial  circumstances after a public fallout with former coach Peter  Moores.

He also underwent Achilles surgery last year which became  infected, keeping him out of most of the Ashes series and  leaving him fearing for his career. He returned to the side for  a disappointing tour of his native South Africa.

Wicketkeeper Steven Davies was selected in both squads after  an excellent year for Surrey while Craig Kieswetter was omitted  from the one-day series lineup.

“As ever the wicketkeeper’s role is a fiercely contested  position in the England team and we’ve no doubt Craig Kieswetter  will continue to press for the chance to reclaim his place in  the England ODI squad,” said Miller.

Twenty20 squad: Collingwood, Anderson, Bopara, Bresnan,  Broad, Steven Davies, Kieswetter, Morgan, Sidebottom, Swann,  Luke Wright, Yardy.

One-day squad: Strauss, Anderson, Bopara, Bresnan, Broad,  Collingwood, Steven Davies, Morgan, Shahzad, Sidebottom, Swann,  Trott, Luke Wright, Yardy.