Kevin Pietersen has quit as England captain after a public falling out with coach Peter Moores.

The England and Wales Cricket Board would not confirm that Pietersen had resigned but sources told Sky News that his tenure is over after just five months in the job.

Pietersen, 28, is currently on holiday and not due to arrive back in the country until Thursday.

The ECB board discussed the situation last night after Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, liaised with both captain, coach and other figures within the international set-up and reported his findings.

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 August 4 last year, hours after Michael Vaughan's emotional departure from the role of Test captain and 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 Test at The 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 $20million showdown.

Although both Pietersen and Moores earned praise for the decision to resume the tour of India early last month following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, 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 December 29 not to recall Michael Vaughan for the tour of the West Indies - a move that Pietersen was pushing for.