Pybus released by Middlesex

Richard Pybus: quits less than six months into a three-year deal © Getty Images

Richard Pybus has left Middlesex less than six months after being appointed as their first-team coach.

In a short statement, Middlesex said that he had "asked to be released from his contract with immediate effect [and] the club has agreed to this request".

Pybus signed a three-year deal in February and joined the county in April after finishing coaching the Titans in South Africa. He had two stints as Pakistan national coach between 1999 and 2003. "We expected Richard to stay with us for two or three years," Ed Smith, Middlesex's captain, told The Times. "We all enjoyed working with him and he had the players' respect. He was an intelligent man and had interesting ideas."

Vinny Codrington, the county's chief executive, told The Times that the resignation came as a complete surprise. "There were a number of issues in his resignation letter that were personal and not related to the club or the players. His wife had been here for just a month and I suspect he was surprised by the high cost of living here."

Pybus's decision came on the same day that the side he left to join Middlesex, Titans in South Africa, revealed that they had failed to find a suitable replacement for him. "Maybe the fact that the Titans job is available influenced him, but I don't know," Codrington said. "He was the boss there. We specifically wanted a first-team coach as we have a director of cricket. He expected his own office here at Lord's, but we simply didn't have room."

John Emburey, who Pybus replaced, will resume a role he stepped down from last year after a dire season saw the county finish bottom of both Championship and one-day leagues.