Stick To Cricket: Michael Vaughan on why McCullum should be sacked and a possible Stokes Ashes return

Betfair and The Overlap present "Stick to Cricket," featuring England cricket legends Michael Vaughan, Sir Alastair Cook, David 'Bumble' Lloyd, and Phil 'Tuffers' Tufnell.

The weekly show offers insights and discussions, with special guests joining the cricket icons to delve into the sport's hottest topics. 

This week the usual panel unpack the home series to defeat to New Zealand, discuss Ben Stokes' Shock retirement from international cricket and pose what is next for Brendon McCullum and Rob Key.

Read a selection of the key quotes, which have been condensed, below and watch the episode to get the full story.

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Michael Vaughan: Brendon McCullum should be sacked, enough is enough

If you look at the last four and a bit years under Baz McCullum, what have we had? In 2023 at Edgbaston, strolling the game in the second innings we went out and gave Nathan Lyon five wickets and Australia went 1-0 up. You go to Lord's a few days later, Nathan Lyon stretchered off, the bouncer tactic, we were bowled out and we're 2-0 down because of that method.

They'll say that method got them back into the game, so they draw that series. Then they go to India and are 1-0 up with an incredible innings from Ollie Pope and then Joe Root reverse swept caught third slip. Lost that series 4-1.

You go back to last year against India at the Oval with 30 required five wickets in the tank. Get it to 22 because they went bang bang, alright Woakes is not going give you anything so you've got four wickets left and we lose the game, so we draw that series.

Then you go to Australia. Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide first innings every time this England cricket team has been put under pressure the only thing that they turn to is swinging with the willow and that's what happened on the fourth night and as soon as I watched that, I was quite patient with them, with this management after the Ashes because I thought phwoar not many managements survive the Ashes because it was a car crash.

Give them a little bit of rope, but when I saw that on the fourth evening last week, I went nah we can't accept that as ex-players in the game we can't accept our England cricket team playing like that.

If you think about England over the course of the Bazball era, Zak Crawley has gone out early and they love Zak Crawley because he could bash the new ball and average 30 , but they didn't trust Emilio Gay to go out and hit that new ball.

That's why the captain goes to the top and then him to number six on his third attempt of playing for England. And you can't tell me to play a reverse sweep first ball, that has to be a directive from the dressing room. It has to be. A reverse sweep on the first ball , what are you doing?

And it was that period that I watched and went I went 'nah enough is enough' English cricket has got to be better than that and I've written about it, I think Baz McCullum is a great guy but he's not a great coach and for England to get to that top and that's what we should all be aiming for as ex-players and fans of English cricket should be aiming to be the No 1 team in the world and at the minute where are we ranked seventh.

We've won two games in 10 matches, and those two wins have come at Lord's on a cesspit and the MCG which was a two-dayer so the only two games that we've won have been on farmers' fields. That can't be right.

I want change. I've seen enough and I care passionately about English cricket, and I hate watching that and you can't tell me that the 20-odd thousand aren't thinking the same. You can't tell me that the millions watching on television are not watching this English team now. When you've got the opposition in your own back yard laughing at you, enough is enough. We need to move on.

There's no way in a million years that this management group is maximising,  I hate using the word talent because talent only takes you so far. We keep saying that they are a talented group of players well they keep losing. This group would never produce a Darryl Mitchell style player because they're not allowed to play like that. But it's the right way for Test cricket.

The work needs to be done now, so who in terms of the ECB has got the cricket nous and the cricket knowledge to go to the CEO, go to the chair and say enough is enough change needs to happen.

Michael Vaughan: I think Ben Stokes could play for England again in the next Ashes series

I don't think Ben Stokes looked right at Lord's. I just think at the minute he's absolutely knackered. He's done; he's gone. I just wonder in time if he goes back. What he said about playing for Durham last week, he just felt that joy again playing cricket, which is great, I love that kind of line.

Over time I'm sure he will play for Durham at the end of this season, he'll no doubt play for some franchise league in the winter, I would guess it would probably be South Africa, maybe Australia who I'm sure will offer him something huge for the Big Bash which will be great for him and his family.

I reckon he comes back next April/May, some of our lads will be in the IPL and its always a subject of conversation should he be here playing county cricket? Ben Stokes will be playing for Durham in the first division, and I think he'll get a few runs, get a couple of fifers and there will be a clamour for his return.

I just think these Botham's, Flintoff's, Stokes, they're different to us, they really are. Freddie Flintoff retired and then he came back in the final at the Vitality.

I think that nightclub incident when you're at the final edge of your career coming to an end in your mind and in your body, I reckon that incident was just that final kind of push, definitely because that week afterwards to think that he's given English cricket so much.

And yeah, he made a mistake whether there was a curfew or not, he went out late and it was a mistake. In their eyes (the ECB) he's made a mistake, in his eyes he probably says he didn't. So, there was a fall-out but the fact that they didn't back him that week I thought was wrong.

Rob Key and Baz McCullum they didn't back him and the security guard was the only witness, the only witness in the whole scenario, I don't know if there was CCTV I've not heard that there was, maybe there is I've not seen it but the security guard I believe pretty much said 'the lads were jovial, they were in good spirits and they were attacked in an unprovoked way by a Saracens rugby player. And Saracens have done nothing about it.

If all the ECB had was the statement of the security officer, if that's all they've got is that got and they've thrown him to the wolves no wonder it's tipped him over the edge.

I think we're all thinking Ben Stokes Ashes next year... and as I've said all week whoever is the new captain, we might have a new coach we might have new management , I think we should , you can't tell me by the end of April/May next year you're not going to be driving up to Durham and going 'Ben come on, any danger, please'.

Michael Vaughan: Rob Key's job is on the line

I am so frustrated watching it, it's laughable, you know you've got Marcus North who is now the chairman of selectors, who is a good appointment. You've got to say that Rob Key's job is on the line. It has to be on the line, the attention to detail now, it's gone beyond us talking about it. We know they haven't had too much of it, they'll say they have, we can see clearly that it's not there. 

Now it wouldn't surprise me if Rob Key goes but that can't be the only reason why you know Rob Key's put Brendon McCullum in place as coach, they're not being well coached. You are telling me if Andy Flower was in charge of this team, you're telling me this team would be getting the results they are getting? No chance.

If Rob Key's got to go, who's going go to the ECB and say, 'Rob Key has to go'?

Michael Vaughan: I'm happy for Harry Brook to captain England in Test cricket

I think Harry Brook will do it and I'll keep saying his name and if I was involved with English cricket I would go straight to Andy Flower and say 'what do you want?' You know you've done incredible for England in the past, you've done incredible for RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) in the IPL over the last two years.

Champions twice, never won it before, he gets in, they win it two times on the trot, what would you need?

I'm actually happy for Harry Brook to captain England in Test cricket as long as the coach changes. Yin and yang, we can't have yin and yin. 

David Lloyd: England should bring in Sachin Tendulkar

There might be a job going for Sachin Tendulkar. He's the man isn't he, bring him in. He's finished playing hasn't he. He knows the game...

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