Shaun Udal today said he does not know how England will get out of "the mess" following the end of Kevin Pietersen's five-month reign as captain.

Speaking before news of Peter Moores' exit as England coach broke, Middlesex captain Udal gave his reaction to what looks like the sacking of Pietersen as captain by the ECB and not a resignation.

Udal said: "There's not much time before the tour of the West Indies - I don't know how they will get out of this mess and sort everything out.

"Every year is important in Test cricket but this is a huge year and to have such turmoil in a way going on a couple of weeks away from going to the West Indies is far from ideal.

"They need to find another captain. They've lost Michael Vaughan, then Paul Collingwood gave up the job - now Kevin. It's a bit of a poisoned chalice.

"He has only been in the job a short period of time. The lads showed they had respect for him by going back to India...but he is still very inexperienced in terms of captaincy.

"Three captains have gone through the ranks recently - I'm not saying its all Peter Moores' fault but there seems to be a trend of going through captains very quickly.

Former England off-spinner Udal was impressed with what he saw of Pietersen in their time together at the Rose Bowl.

The 39-year-old continued: "No question the side needs him scoring as many runs as possible because he's a matchwinner.

"I know he's a very determined character and with a bit of luck that will continue - although now he has got to work with a different captain.

"Whoever does come in has two past England captains in that side - so it will be a very difficult task for whoever takes over."

The dispute with Moores appears to have been the reason for Pietersen's departure, and Udal explained: "In my eyes the captain should always have the final say who he takes out on the pitch, while the coach looks after off-pitch stuff in terms of preparation and drills.

"I've not been involved in the England set up for a couple of years now. When I was, Duncan Fletcher looked after things off the pitch but the captain was very much in charge.

"Maybe Michael Vaughan not being picked is one of the issues and that's why Kevin was so upset - but there's no point having selectors if they don't get involved in who goes in the squad.

"It's a huge job to take on and Michael Vaughan said it is all-consuming. Maybe a bit of that has come into his decision, he's on holiday and he's still dealing with issues and problems which come up."