Pietersen

LONDON (Reuters):

KEVIN PIETERSEN ruled himself out of contention yesterday as England one-day captain for the forthcoming series against West Indies but said he would be prepared to take the job some time in the future.

"At this stage of my career I don't think it's the right time for me yet," Pietersen said.

"I'd be humbled in the future to be given the opportunity to captain my country, but right now I don't think it's the right time for me."

England will name their new one-day captain today with all-rounder Paul Collingwood the clear favourite to replace Michael Vaughan, who has relinquished the job after the unsuccessful World Cup campaign in the Caribbean this year.

"Whoever gets the job tomorrow gets my full support," said Pietersen. "It's a new era now, it's a good time for English cricket to go forward."

Vaughan will still skipper the Test side and Pietersen said splitting the captaincy could be beneficial.

"I think it's a positive move because of the simple fact that we haven't done too well in one-day cricket," he said.

"A one-day skipper, a new regime, a new structure, new thoughts, new ideas could be a really good positive for us and something we need."

England are ranked second in the world in Tests but only seventh in one-dayers after their feeble showing in the World Cup where they failed to make the semi-finals.