Video: Pietersen resigns

Video: Pietersen's press conference

Strauss asked to pick up the pieces | England's flawed genius | Atherton: Strauss must heal England's rifts | CMJ: England's captain-coach relationship vital | Pietersen: gamble that failed when going got tough | Atherton: Ashes now depends on Pietersen's reaction | County executives back Moores to return

“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm,” said Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers American football team, who was often quoted by Peter Moores. However, the former England head coach, a magpie of methods and keen almost to overprepare his sides, appears to have been a victim of his own enthusiasm.

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The world is full of men with their great futures behind them. At the age of 46, and after just 18 months in the job that every ambitious coach spends his life working towards, Moores finds himself unemployed. His meteoric rise has been matched only by the speed of his sacking. However, the county chief executives that The Times spoke to said that he was not “damaged goods”.

Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager who as captain of Sussex was part of the revolution at Hove with Moores, his great friend, said: “In this situation the lad himself comes away with a great deal of integrity. He’s the only one who has kept his counsel in an appropriate way.

“It is nothing less than what I expected from Peter Moores. He’s a fabulous person. He’s disappointed, not just for himself, but for a group of players he would have felt were about to develop into a strong team. From what I can tell at least three quarters of that side were enjoying everything what he was bringing and there was just a small element that didn’t agree.”

Not everyone in the game is a fan of Moores’s style, but no one doubts his sincerity and his reputation in this affair will suffer far less because the man he is pitted against is Kevin Pietersen, who has few fans.

Moores will probably take some time out of the game and there are no leading international jobs available, but there is one county position out of 18 available and it is a big one, at Lancashire. Before Moores was sacked, Jim Cumbes, the club’s chief executive, said: “The deadline has already passed, but the club would be flexible if the right application came in.”

Mark Newton, the Worcestershire chief executive, believes it is natural that questions will be asked about Moores. “When anybody has to move on from a role when they did not want to, there are always going to be questions asked,” Newton said. “It’s the same if people are made redundant in a selective redundancy situation, if people resign with nothing to go on to. It doesn’t mean they are damaged goods but questions have to be asked.”

That Moores was given so little time may also count in his favour. There has barely been enough evidence to determine if he was overpromoted.

“He clearly needed more time in the job,” David Smith, the Leicestershire chief executive, said. “We’re looking at an age that’s going down the football route. There’s a lack of patience. Whether it is international or county cricket, I believe a three-year period is a reasonable time for them to have to establish their credentials to do that job.

“I think Peter Moores is a good coach and I think he will come back into the fray in some shape. He’s got a good reputation left within cricket, he had a good track record at Sussex and has lots to offer and arguably may come back stronger for the experience.” In that respect, it could be that one of the biggest criticisms levelled at Moores — that he did not have international experience — has also been remedied.

By appointing Moores to succeed Duncan Fletcher, the ECB was explicitly promoting an internal candidate to back the domestic coaching structure it has spent the past decade developing. Moores was part of the first Level 4 graduation and always a rising star; likewise David Parsons, who was not a first-class player, but took over as the performance director at the National Cricket Centre after Moores had spent two years there. It has been the way of Australia, too, who promoted Tim Nielsen, the director of their national academy, to coach after the last World Cup in 2007. Nielsen, 40, signed a contract extension just before Christmas that will take him through until 2011.

However, international experience is vital and it could be that England should be encouraging their young coaches to gain experience around the world. Andy Moles, 47, the former Warwickshire batsman, could become the best English candidate for the job in three years’ time, if he has success as New Zealand coach after taking over last month.

Hove to Lord’s to where?

- Born on December 18, 1962.

- Played for Sussex, becoming captain in 1997 and coach a year later. Coached them to first County Championship title in 2003.

- Moved to become director of the ECB Academy in 2005 and succeeded Duncan Fletcher as England head coach in May 2007.

- Won first Test series, against West Indies, but England then lost 1-0 to India for their first home series defeat for six years.

- Won eight, lost six Tests. Won 14, lost 18 one-day internationals.

Words by Patrick Kidd