‘It’s a backroom team made up of cheerleaders’ – Michael Vaughan’s honest take on Bazball after India thrashing

Michael Vaughan. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Former skipper Michael Vaughan is disgusted with England’s performance in the recently concluded five-match Test series against India. The visitors won the opening match of the series in Hyderabad but lost four back-to-back Tests, losing the high-voltage series 1-4. Their middle-order batters were under scrutiny from the start of the series as the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, and Ben Foakes could barely contribute with the bat throughout the series.

Vaughan also talked about the visitors taking two breaks in the middle of an important series. Notably, after the second Test, the England players went to Abu Dhabi but didn’t carry their kit bags for practice. After the fourth Test, they travelled to Bengaluru to play golf, which once again infuriated Vaughan as he questioned their professionalism towards the sport. Vaughan mentioned that he doesn’t want to input old-school philosophies but is worried that the players are not being honest regarding their game.

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“The truth is that this can’t always be fun, because it’s so hard. Positivity is good, and inspiring, but honesty is also required. The team message is never to doubt anything, never admit they were wrong or they could have done things differently. Everything is very cosy. Everyone is mates: players, coaches, backroom staff. That does not breed an environment of ruthlessness,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

Vaughan added that he is all up for the positivity that’s currently present in the team but believes that self-inspection is the need of the hour. He added that it feels like the backroom team has become cheerleaders as they don’t criticize or question themselves but only talk about the positivity.

“But surely with two long breaks, you need to get some cricket into the outside of the team, so they are ready if required, and to keep those in the XI on their toes. It also might help players in the team find form. I do worry it’s a backroom team made up of cheerleaders. That’s based on what I hear in public, and maybe it’s different in the changing room, but players need challenging and questioning at times,” he added.