England batsman Kevin Pietersen has confirmed that he is set to make a sensational return to the KZN Dophins as he bids to regain form ahead of the year-end Ashes tour of Australia.

He now just awaits clearance from Cricket South Africa for the move to be rubber-stamped.

The controversial Pietersen, 30, was born in Pietermaritzburg and played for the Dolphins before he left for the UK. He has since gone to become one of the British sports most recognisable faces.

His agent, Adam Wheatley, confirmed to The Times on Thursday afternoon that playing for the Dolphins was something that ‘they’ve seriously discussed’ and ‘is a possibility.’ But, he and Pietersen hadn’t spoken directly to the Dolphins who had in fact made an approach to the England and Wales Cricket Board as he is contracted centrally.

That confirmation came through late on Thursday evening by way of an ECB press release, making him available for two Supersport Series matches against North West (October 7-10) and Eastern Province (October 14-17).

Pietersen says in the release: "I'm extremely keen to get as much cricket as possible under my belt before a challenging and exciting winter.

"My sole focus is to continue playing a leading role for England and joining Natal is the perfect opportunity to prepare in excellent conditions immediately before the Ashes. These two matches would enable me to work on my game against the Kookaburra ball in Southern hemisphere conditions which is the ideal preparation for Australia."

If the deal is ratified by CSA then Pietersen would be likely to join them after his short stint with county side Surrey is completed, before going on to link up with Andy Flower’s England squad.

After being dropped from the current England T20 team that beat Pakistan 2-0, Pietersen’s been turning out for the Oval-based side, for whom he made a second-ball duck yesterday against Glamorgan on his first class debut for the county.

To further compound his week he’s also been fined by the ECB for a rant on social networking site Twitter, that criticized his non-selection for the England T20 side. That comes just four months after starring as England were crowned World Twenty20 champions.

Pietersen’s lack of form in Test cricket has become a topic of much debate in English cricket with Flower saying that he needed to spend some time in the middle. He’s made just 232 runs in nine Test innings against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the British summer with a top score of 80 and has not scored a Test match century since March 2009.