Michael Vaughan: “I would rather players went as overseas pros to Australia or New Zealand, as Ben Stokes did recently”

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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called for a host of changes to be implemented after the national team suffered a humiliating 4-0 battering at the hands of Australia in the recently concluded Ashes series.

To make matters worse, England’s record overseas in the past two years makes for uncomfortable reading as they have lost 10 of their 14 Tests away from home.

To further put that into perspective, only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have worse records.

Given the surprising statistics, Vaughan suggested that two County Championship matches should be held overseas in order to allow players to experience different conditions to those that they are accustomed to.

“Maybe play two first-class matches overseas in March, giving players experience of using the Kookaburra ball on flat pitches,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph as quoted by foxsports.com.au.

The 43-year-old also questioned the usefulness of the England Lions squad and believes that players would get more experience by playing in domestic competitions around the world.

“I am not into the Lions and did not like it when I played. You go overseas, play opposition who are not very good and think you are an England player,” he wrote. “I would rather players went as overseas pros to Australia or New Zealand, as Ben Stokes did recently. Why do our young spinners not go and play club cricket or state cricket on the subcontinent?

“Steve Smith wants to play county cricket. The Marsh brothers have signed county deals to improve their red-ball games in England.

“They recruited David Saker as bowling coach, and he knows our system and pitches. They have a real eye on winning in 2019.

“He (England assistant coach Paul Farbrace) was honest about England’s mental failings, and said the planning for four years’ time starts now. The question is, why has there not been enough planning for this tour?”