Kevin Pietersen reiterated the possibility of him representing South Africa after excelling on his return to domestic cricket in Surrey's 10-run NatWest T20 Blast defeat of Essex.

The 37-year-old former Hampshire batsman hit four sixes in an over, amid a wider total of 52 off 35 balls for his highest score for Surrey in T20 competition, as they secured a third victory from five South Group games.

A calf strain prevented him from fielding as Surrey restricted Essex to 140 for seven, but having typically been the centre of attention after his revelation earlier on Wednesday, he again raised the prospect of competing for the country of his birth once he re-qualifies in 2019.

Asked about his pre-match comments, he said: "You are talking about in two years' time. Would I? Who knows? We'll have to wait and see where I am.

"I'm going to be playing a lot of cricket in South Africa over the next two years, so we'll see.

"I love batting: I will bat for as long as I love the art of batting. I do at the moment, but I'm an old man now, I've just hurt my calf, I didn't field.

"Who knows where I'll be in two years' time? If I enjoy batting, we'll see where I get to. I'm in a very happy place."

Pietersen also spoke of his belief that England must drop both Keaton Jennings and Gary Ballance.

While the latter will miss next week's third Test against South Africa with a finger injury, Jennings is expected to retain his place at the top of the order - but the former England captain remains adamant Dawid Malan and Jason Roy represent superior options.

"They picked a poor Test-match team," he said. "I know they won (the first Test) at Lord's but that was the brilliance of (Joe) Root.

"There's individuals that are brilliant, but the collective don't fire as much as they should and there are some holes in that batting order.

"You cannot have a top three that bat as the top three bat or has poor technique, you cannot have that. You've got to change that up, get them striking, get bowlers thinking 'Goodness, if I don't bowl this ball in the right place, I'm going to get whacked'. Malan and Roy are my choice."

Of his own performance and the calf injury that restricted his movement, he added: "I absolutely loved it. It's a date in the diary that I've looked forward to for a very long time since I signed the contract; to get out here and actually play and do what I did was magnificent.

"It's a little bit sore, and I'm 37 years of age, I know my body, if I'd gone out there and started sprinting, I could have done a lot of damage to it. I want to play, I'm desperate to bat, I love batting, and I know my body: if I need to pull up, I'll pull up.

"It's just nice to be batting. The art of batting: manipulating the field, hitting balls through the off side, picking length and stuff, that's what really excites me.

"The sixes are what they are, they're a by-product of the art of batting and I love the art of batting."

ends