Kevin Pietersen: Batsman left stranded on 355 not out as Surrey run out of wickets in County Championship match against Leicestershire

Leicestershire 292 all out, Surrey 557 all out

Kevin Pietersen leaves the field after being left stranded on 355 not out (Getty Images)

Kevin Pietersen's retort to his exclusion from the England side came to an end as he ran out of partners in Surrey's LV= County Championship match against Leicestershire.

The 34-year-old ended Surrey's innings on 355 not out after tail-ender Matt Dunn was caught off the bowling of Ben Raine in the morning session of day three.

Having resumed on 326, Pietersen continued about his business, hitting three boundaries as England's new director of cricket Andrew Strauss was telling reporters at Lord's he would not be recalling the batsman in the foreseeable future.

Surrey were all-out for 557 with a first-innings lead of 265 as they go in search of their first win of the season.

Having negotiated his way out of a commitment to Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pietersen was hoping to impress for Surrey and regain his place in the England set-up.

He was sacked by England in February 2014 after the Ashes series whitewash in Australia, but managing director Paul Downton's departure kick-started a chain of events that increased speculation of a possible recall.

England's off-field unrest has rumbled on unabated, with coach Peter Moores sacked at the weekend and Strauss installed to oversee another overhaul.

Moores' assistant Paul Farbrace will take control for the two-Test series against New Zealand, with Strauss leading the search for a permanent coach.

But, as Pietersen set about adding to his mammoth overnight tally, Strauss was ruling out any immediate reconciliation due to an 'erosion of trust' between player and country.

In the end, the 104-Test veteran was left not out just two runs short of Surrey's all-time individual record score set back in 1899 as he comfortably eclipsed his own previous first-class best of 254 - hitting his 355 from just 396 deliveries with 36 fours and 15 sixes.

Dunn scored just five runs off 47 in his role as Pietersen's last supporting artist and gave an easy catch to Lewis Hill to bring the innings to a close.

It appears, however, that as eye-catching as this knock from Pietersen was, it has done little to heal any rifts with those involved in the new England hierarchy.

More to follow...