Everyone deserves a 2nd chance! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😃😃😃😃😂😂😂😂 — Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) April 19, 2014

Kevin Pietersen's hopes of reviving his international career appeared to end on Saturday when England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Paul Downton said there was no way back for the star batsman.

Pietersen, England's leading run-scorer across all formats, was sensationally axed from the national set-up following the team's recent 5-0 Ashes series loss in Australia.

At first, the ECB would cite only the need for a new "team ethic and philosophy" and support for skipper Alastair Cook as the reason behind the move, with Cook saying it was a brave call.

But that left unanswered the question of what 33-year-old South African-born Pietersen had done in Australia to deserve such drastic treatment.

However, during a Lord's news conference on Saturday, where Peter Moores was unveiled as England coach after Andy Flower stood down following the Ashes debacle, Downton gave the most detailed explanation yet by anyone in the England hierarchy for Pietersen's exile.

"I arrived in Sydney (the venue for the fifth and final Ashes Test) on 31st December, and it was clear that there were two issues: Andy Flower's future and what we were going to do about Kevin," said Downton, who was flanked by Moores and Cook.

"I watched every ball of that Sydney Test match and I've never seen anybody so disengaged from what was going on," former England wicketkeeper Downton said of a match the tourists lost by 281 runs, with Pietersen managing scores of just three and six.

"What you need from a senior player is backing, support and everybody working together. We just got to a stage where that was no longer the case.

"We came to the conclusion that if England was going to rebuild after a 5-0 loss, then we had to make a decision for the future and for the side to grow, and let's remember that we hadn't replaced (Andrew) Strauss, (Graeme) Swann had retired, (Jonathan) Trott had gone home and is still recovering now (from a stress-related illness), that we had to invest in new players and build a new team with some core values.

"What you see here is the future and I don't see any going back."

Last week Pietersen, who is playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, said he still had hope of becoming the first England player to score 10,000 Test runs.

"Yes, maybe I'll still get to 10,000," Pietersen told the Indian Express.

But that cut little ice with Downton.

"We had a strong side over 10 years with strong leadership and established captains and coaches, and that side could accommodate Kevin, but that balance has shifted now," Downton said.

Moores, 51, was previously England coach from 2007 to 2009 before a falling out with Pietersen cost him the job and the batsman the England captaincy.

Rejoining the England set-up from his position as Lancashire coach, Moores laughed when he was told Pietersen had tweeted: "Everyone deserves a 2nd chance!".

Moores added: "The important point to make is I never fell out with Kevin, Kevin fell out with me. There's a notable difference."

Quick Single: Moores appointed coach

Quick Single: Trott leaves the game again