London, Jan. 8 : Ex-England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen has arrived back home following a winter holiday in South Africa.

Greeted by photographers and reporters, Pietersen refused to make a comment on the current crisis in England cricket, and was escorted to a waiting car by police.

Pietersen quit as England skipper after only five months on Wednesday in the wake of his rift with coach Peter Moores - who was sacked.

Wednesday''s tumultuous events leave England in disarray ahead of the tour to the West Indies and the Ashes series against Australia this summer.

England leave for the Caribbean on January 21, and the England and Wales Cricket Board will now begin its search for a new coach.

Andrew Strauss has been named as captain for the tour of the West Indies, although it is not known whether he will also take charge of the one-day and Twenty20 teams.

The ECB have announced a news conference for 3 p. m. GMT at Lord''s, where Strauss and Hugh Morris, the ECB''s managing director, will address the media.

Pietersen, who admitted last week his relationship with Moores was strained, has stated his desire to remain involved in the England set-up.

And former skipper Michael Vaughan, whose potential return to the England team led to a clash between Pietersen and Moores, has backed Pietersen to put the controversy behind him.

"What Kevin has to do now is go to the West Indies and score a hundred in the first Test, then it will be forgotten," Vaughan .

Past skippers and players said that Pietersen got what he justily deserved after bringing his conflict with Moores into the public domain. (ANI)