Kevn Pietersen has resigned as England captain, according to Sky News.

Pietersen, who only took the job last August, was reported to be unhappy working with coach Peter Moores and had demanded showdown talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board following the 1-0 Test series defeat in India last month.

The ECB are believed to have held an emergency teleconference for their executive board on Tuesday evening to discuss the rift between coach and captain.

The outcome of that teleconference appears to have prompted Pietersen to stand down from the role.

The South African-born batsman, 28, enjoyed some initial success after succeeding Michael Vaughan as Test skipper and Paul Collingwood as one-day captain.

He led the side to victory over South Africa at the Oval in his first Test in charge and built on that with a 4-0 one-day series success over the Proteas.

But England struggled during a difficult winter, losing the $20 million winner-takes-all match against the Stanford Superstars in Antigua before falling 5-0 down in the seven-match one-day series in India, which was then abandoned due to the Mumbai terror attacks.

England's decision to return to India for two Tests earned widespread praise for Pietersen's handling of the situation.

Posted By: shoddy on January 7th 2009 at 09:46:19

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