Pietersen quits as England captain

London: Kevin Pietersen has quit as England cricket captain in the fallout to his power struggle with coach Peter Moores, according to Sky TV.

Pietersen and Moores have had several disagreements and the England and Wales Cricket Board have spent days trying to resolve the issue.

Moores, who succeeded Duncan Fletcher after the 2007 World Cup, was expected to be the man to go but Sky News said its sources had told them Pietersen had decided to resign.

The ECB initially declined to comment on the report and so far has so far been silent about the conflict.

But director of cricket Hugh Morris and chief executive David Collier have been under pressure to find a solution to the conflict before the team flies to the Caribbean for a test and one-day series against the West Indies starting Jan. 21.

An Ashes series against Australia also looms in July with England due to host the West Indies before then.

Pietersen was appointed last year after Michael Vaughan resigned, England having already lost a series to South Africa. The South African-born batsman led the team to a victory in the final test of that series but England lost the recent two-match series 1-0 in India.