CONTROVERSIAL former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has re-signed for Surrey County Cricket Club for their 2017 NatWest T20 Blast campaign, meaning he is set to come to Taunton on August 6.

Pietersen, 36, who has most recently been in action in the Australian Big Bash League and Pakistan Super League, could turn out in front of Somerset fans at the Cooper Associates County Ground this summer, having not played in England since June 2015.

Having first signed for Surrey in 2010, the South Africa-born batsman has rejoined the club and will be available for Essex at The Oval on 19 July, then will be available for the rest of the competition.

Since he burst onto the England scene in 2005, Pietersen has brought delight and dispute in equal measure, but is England's third-highest run scorer in international T20 cricket, and helped them win the World Twenty20 title in 2010.

Pietersen said: "I’m absolutely over the moon to be joining Surrey again.

"We’ve got some seriously talented guys in our team and I’m very confident we can achieve something really special this season."

Surrey's director of cricket Alec Stewart said: "Re-signing KP is a massive boost to the club and the NatWest T20 Blast competition.

"To have a player of his undoubted calibre available to us will add strength and experience to our squad and I’m sure all our fans will enjoy seeing him back playing in England again."

Somerset's first T20 Blast match is away to Surrey - at that point without Pietersen - on July 9, and their first home game in the competition sees Gloucestershire visit the County Ground on July 21.

The club's full upcoming fixture list can be found here.