HAMPSHIRE chairman Rod Bransgrove is confident that Kevin Pietersen will be available for most of the county season - despite the England batsman's outstanding start to his international career.

Pietersen scored his maiden one day international ton on Wednesday, smashing an unbeaten 108 from just 96 balls as England tied the second ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein.

The 24-year-old now has a ODI average of 234.00 from six matches and if he maintains that form he has an excellent chance of being awarded a central contract before the start of the domestic season.

But Bransgrove is confident that Hampshire fans will still get to see plenty of English cricket's latest star, pictured, at the Rose Bowl this season.

He said: "It's hard to imagine an England one day team without KP now, he's taken his opportunity very well, and I must admit to being a bit surprised at how quickly he has established himself at international level. It's been amazing to see him fulfil all of his promise, we already knew that he is explosive, and now he's shown that for England at one-day level.

"But England coach Duncan (Fletcher) is pretty careful, he tends to be pretty loyal to his players and, barring injury, I wouldn't anticipate him making too many changes with the Test side as it stands."

Pietersen's one day commitments this summer make him unavailable for Hampshire's Twenty20 campaign and if he maintains his current form it will be hard for the selectors to leave him out of the Test side for the Ashes, which begin on July 21.

If he is awarded a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board in April, Hampshire Cricket will at least be reimbursed - but it would see Pietersen miss the bulk of the county season.

Bransgrove added: "Anything is possible but we knew the risks when we signed him, it goes with the territory when you sign good players. But when he does play for Hampshire he will bring a lot of character to our dressing room and will change matches for us.

"I've been in constant contact with him throughout the winter and I know he's very excited about playing for the Hawks."

If Pietersen is centrally contracted it will threaten Hampshire's chances of success in all competitions - but manager Paul Terry will not be bringing in a replacement.

He said: "We want our young players to go up to the next level so we won't be adding to the squad, it could be a good opportunity for one of them.

"It's like when the club signed John Crawley, who played for England in his first season - it's good for the other players to play alongside an England player when he is around. They'll be able to see the possibilities if they perform well for Hampshire - and I'll be absolutely delighted if Kevin plays a lot for England this summer. It would be pretty selfish to think any other way."

Terry added: "It's always a little surprising when someone adapts to international cricket as easily as he has.

"It looks as though he's been playing there for years. It must have been pretty tough for him to be booed by the home crowd but he's a tough character and, like Andrew Strauss, he's adjusted to international cricket very easily. I always felt he would but he's done it very quickly."