Counties are said to be queueing up to sign Kevin Pietersen as he tries to resurrect his England career.

Incoming England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves first offered KP a glimmer of hope of a recall while the World Cup nightmare will surely lead to regime change in the not- too-distant future.

England’s batsmen managed to surpass 300 runs in an innings – against Scotland – on just the one occasion prior to the chastening defeat to Bangladesh that confirmed their exit before the end of the group stages.

ECB managing director Paul Downton and head coach Peter Moores have refused to offer Pietersen a way back into the fold, but you would think that, ultimately, it won't be their decision to make.

But it was interesting this week to see Surrey chief executive Richard Gould distance the county for a return for their star attraction in last season’s 2015 T20 competition.

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Fellow batsman Jason Roy may have spoken glowingly about the impact Pietersen had in the dressing room, but the fact is the 23-year-old thoroughly eclipsed his celebrated team-mate at the crease.

And herein lies the rub for those championing KP’s cause.

He has chased the money on the world T20 circuit – nothing wrong with that at this stage of his career – but how can you justify selecting someone who hasn’t played longer forms of the game since the ignominious end to his England career?

And even if you were to pick a T20 side based on recent performances then Roy, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler are surely more worthy of the prime batting positions.

The effective sacking of Pietersen, rather than simply leaving him out, was a crass decision that has overshadowed the England set up for the best part of the year.

But if Pietersen really is serious about an England recall he needs to produce some serious performances on the field to back that up.