Kevin Pietersen had first offered his resignation after last month's second Test against India but was advised to sleep over it.

"He mentioned resigning the captaincy in our discussions with him but we wanted him to go away and think about it while he was in South Africa (on holiday)," said England and Wales Cricket Board vice-chairman Dennis Amiss said.

"We said, 'Go away and think about it and we will resolve the situation as quickly as we can'," he was quoted as saying by the 'BBC Sport'.

The South African-born batsman stepped down as England captain last week after leading the side in three Tests in his brief tenure of five months as he couldn't work with Peter Moores who was sacked as the coach a result of the row.

"Once the information was in the public domain that Kevin Pietersen didn't want Peter Moores as his coach, it was always going to be impossible to resolve amicably and the ECB board was put in an impossible position," Amiss said.