Pietersen arrives back in England

Kevin Pietersen arrived back in London on Thursday after his dramatic resignation as captain that left England cricket in a state of chaos.

The batsman flew into Heathrow airport from a holiday in South Africa to find himself in the media glare over the controversial resignation.

Pietersen was given a police escort out of Heathrow - after he tried to slip out of a side door only to greeted by a crush of photographers and cameramen. He left in a black car without making any comment.

The press reported on Thursday that his resignation was inevitable when it became clear his team-mates were not behind him in his row with coach Peter Moores.

The batsman was riding high after England returned to India following the Mumbai terror attacks and his attempt to remove Moores while staying on as captain himself could have worked -- if the team had backed him, according to newspapers here, many of which led with the drama.

"Knifed in the Back" headlined the Daily Mirror, saying Pietersen quit before he was pushed after a "startling vote of no confidence from his own players" left him with "no room for manoeuvre".

At the same time, however, it laid much of the blame for what many called a "day of farce" -- Moores was forced out of his position too -- on Pietersen for taking such a public stand against the England coach, splashing the headline: "The Ego with Egg on his Face".

The Guardian said the captain's exit was "inevitable" as soon as team bosses "realised the extent of the dressing-room antipathy towards him".

Some of the papers blamed all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for picking Moores over South Africa-born Pietersen in the row, with the Daily Mail headlining: "Flintoff leads a mutiny."

The paper said new captain Andrew Strauss now had an "almighty challenge" to restore unity ahead of the tour of the West Indies this month.

"England cricket is ripped apart from hatred" splashed The Sun, saying Wednesday's debacle "leaves England divided and demoralised".

The Times blamed Moores's "aggressive style of management" but said Pietersen "cannot issue an ultimatum to his employers at the first sign of disagreement, especially when he does not have the full backing of his own players".

In an editorial, it put most of the responsibility on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which gave Pietersen the captaincy having previously appointed Moores as coach.

"This sorry state of affairs was eminently predictable," the paper said.