Kevin Pietersen and the England and Wales Cricket Board have announced that they have agreed "a process for his re-integration into the England team" but he looks unlikely to make his return before the new year.
Pietersen has not played international cricket since the second Test against South Africa in the summer, being dropped for the series finale and then being left out of the World Twenty20 squad despite reversing his limited-overs retirement.
Discussions have been ongoing behind the scenes in a bid to establish common ground with Pietersen and while Wednesday's news appears positive in terms of Pietersen continuing his England career, the forthcoming Test tour to India looks likely to be too soon.
There was no news about a central contract for Pietersen, whose previous deal with the ECB expired two days ago, but the issue of "provocative" phone messages to friends in the Proteas dressing room appears to have been finally resolved.
