Pietersen resigns, Moores sacked
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Pietersen pictured boarding a London bound flight as he returns from holiday. Pietersen resigned as England captain today after his relationship with team coach Peter Moores broke down
CAPTAIN CONTENDERS
Kevin Pietersen has confirmed that he is standing down as England captain with immediate effect.
Pietersen said in a statement that he did not resign this morning, as was widely reported, but that he has done so following subsequent talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The South African-born batsman says he still intends to play for the team.
Meanwhile, England head coach Peter Moores has been sacked, the England and Wales Cricket Board have announced.
The ECB have confirmed that Andrew Strauss will lead the team on the tour of the West Indies.
News of a rift between Pietersen and Moores became public on New Year's Eve and the ECB have been forced to carry out their inquest into the relationship breakdown under great scrutiny.
Pietersen was appointed on 4 August, hours after Michael Vaughan's emotional departure from the role of Test captain and the confirmation that Paul Collingwood would not be continuing as one-day leader.
He began in spectacular style with victory over South Africa in the final npower Test at the Brit Oval and then followed up with a 4-0 drubbing of the Proteas in the limited-overs campaign.
But things turned sour during a shambolic week in Antigua which saw England trounced in the Stanford Super Series showdown.
Although both Pietersen and Moores earned praise for the decision to resume the tour of India early last month following the Mumbai terrorist attacks, signs that all was not well on the playing front came when the tourists failed to defend a 387-run target in the opening Test in Chennai.
It is understood that Pietersen was already concerned about Moores' coaching methods prior to the decision on 29 December not to recall Michael Vaughan for the tour of West Indies - a move that Pietersen was pushing for.
The ECB opted to promote Moores less than 24 hours after Duncan Fletcher's eight-year reign came to its conclusion at the 2007 World Cup.
But his record in charge includes four Test series defeats out of four against top-level opposition and the only victories have been against lowly New Zealand and the West Indies.
England head back to the Caribbean a fortnight today, which means time is not on their side in a bid to regain stability.
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