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London: Kevin Pietersen should be fit for England's One-dayers and Test matches against South Africa following his recovery from an Achilles' injury.
Team director Andy Flower said Friday that his team's star batsman is scheduled to return for a Nov. 17 tour match against South Africa's second-string "A" team.
That rules him out of the two Twenty20 matches but makes him available for the subsequent five One-Day Internationals and four Test matches.
"It means a hell of a lot," Flower said. "He brings confidence to the side. He's a strong character and a flair player. He's a very dangerous proposition and we will be buoyed by his return."
Pietersen has not played since the second test of England's Ashes series against Australia, which the home side won despite the absence of the Pietersen and recurrent injuries to allrounder Andrew Flintoff.
"The fact that we won the Ashes with limited contributions from the two big stars is a good thing for the unit and the country's cricket," Flower said. "When they come back, that adds strength and power."
Flintoff is also recuperating from injury. He has retired from test cricket but is targeting a return to limited-overs internationals early next year.
Pietersen, who had lost the England captaincy at the start of the year following his spat with coach Peter Moores, played just two tests against Australia before having surgery in July.
His return is especially anticipated since it is set for the country of his birth.
Having opted to play for England, Pietersen was jeered and abused when he made his international debut in one-day matches on the 2005 tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
He responded with three hundreds and a half-century in six innings against South Africa to lead the series scoring charts with 454 at an average of 151. His nearest rival, South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs, hit 356 at 50.85.
Flower thinks Pietersen is unlikely to meet with the vitriol directed at him four years ago.
"He's not going to get anything worse than when he first went out there to play international cricket for England," Flower said. "I think he's earned the respect of the South African public."
