DURBAN, Sept 8 (Reuters) - England's Kevin Pietersen is set to turn out for South African franchise the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) Dolphins in October in a bid to find his form before the Ashes tour later this year, a KZN official said on Wednesday.
The South African-born batsman, who made his first-class debut for the Durban-based Dolphins during the 1997-98 season before relocating to England, will be available to play in two four-day matches for the franchise from Oct. 7-17.
Pietersen will not be paid for his time with the Dolphins, the KZN cricket official, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.
"Kevin will play two SuperSport Series matches for us," the official said. "It is a win-win situation because we are not paying him anything and he gets to prepare for the Ashes."
Durban newspaper the Daily News reported that Pietersen had received clearance from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play in South Africa.
However, Cricket South Africa, which has the final say on international players competing for South African franchises, has not yet signed the deal off.
Pietersen was dropped by England for the Twenty20 internationals and one-dayers against Pakistan because the selectors felt he would benefit from playing as much cricket as possible.
The 30-year-old right-hander, part of the Twenty20 World Cup-winning side this year and voted player of that tournament, was fined an undisclosed sum this week after posting a message on Twitter, which contained an expletive, announcing he had been dropped.
Pietersen has passed fifty for England just once this season and the last of his 16 test centuries was scored against West Indies in March, 2009.
The Ashes series in Australia starts in November.
(Reporting by Jason Humphries; Editing by Alison Wildey, To query or comment on this story email
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. A couple of our players could benefit from that