Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast: 'If you want to play for England, arrive in your Ferrari'
Hello everyone, in this week's episode we will be discussing another sensational victory for Ben Stokes' England side after they casually chased down nearly 300 runs at Headingley and made it look easy in the process.
It means they have whitewashed the Black Caps and sealed a memorable 3-0 win against the World Test champions.
I know correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation but since we launched this podcast, the England men's team have played three Tests, three ODIs and won the lot.
This Test team, in three weeks, has done something that I saw the one-day team do after the World Cup in 2015. It's very clear a message has been sent that they are going to play Test cricket completely different to how I have ever seen and that goes back to the great, great sides of the 70s, 80s and 90s. It's risky, it's flamboyant and it's brutal.
Will it work every week? Will it work overseas? We will have to wait and see, but I tell you what, they are going to have a go at playing this brand of cricket every week and whether it's going to be silly at times and stupid - I think it possibly will be - Stokes' message is very clear and that's what I like about them.
They are sending a message. Ben even sent a message in the press conference afterwards to all the players in the county game that if you want to get in this England side you've got to arrive in your Ferrari. If you arrive in a slow two-seater you ain't playing. You've got to be scoring fast, being aggressive, taking on the opposition and trying to impact the game to get into this England side.
Let's wait and see if it can work in conditions that aren't quite as true and flat as we've seen recently, but I don't think they will take a back foot and I don't think they will stop trying to play this aggressive style of cricket, so we are in for a great ride.
Elsewhere, it is the end of an era for England. The one-day side's history-making captain Eoin Morgan has announced he will be retiring from the sport. Morgan has struggled for both fitness and form in recent months but he will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest captains England has ever produced in any sport. He transformed his team into the most feared in the world and we will be looking back over his time in charge, discussing who might replace him and asking what now for the one-day side.
Plus, we have a real treat. We speak to New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult, catching up with one of the kings of swing to talk about a wide range of topics, from the weirdness of seeing his former skipper Brendon McCullum dressed in England kit to how he would bowl to his Rajasthan Royals team-mate Jos Buttler and how he keeps himself fit by playing all formats of the game.
You can listen to The Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club on the audio player at the top of this episode, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.
