Geoffrey Boycott says England need to move on from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum

There has to be a shift in policy, ideas and mindset for England to go to the next level.

They don’t accept the fact that when England come under pressure against the “big two” of Australia and India, they are found wanting in technique, unable to think on their feet and adjust to the rhythm of Test cricket.

Some of them have the same faults and keep making the same daft mistakes because they do not fear being dropped. Players are too comfortable, and that has bred complacency. They are so stubborn and will not listen to anyone, always insisting their way is the only way.

Many people would cherish the England coach’s job because it is very high profile and exceptionally well paid. Jason Gillespie did a great job at Yorkshire, or they could go for an English coach like Alec Stewart.

I would like this “gung-ho” batting to stop. I realise it has been ingrained over three years, but we have to get it out of them. It may take a little time, but it can be done, and batsmen should still attack when they are in and on top of the bowlers. Nobody wants dour, defensive cricket, but let’s get back to textbook cricket with guys assessing the situation, thinking on their feet and batting with discipline. We were always told to use our brain. A thinking cricketer is a better cricketer.

Players should be told nobody is guaranteed a place in the team. Everyone has to earn the right to be selected, and if you don’t perform, we will find someone else.

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More players should be sent to play in county cricket, which I know isn’t as strong as it was, but it is all we have. Nobody gets better at batting and bowling sitting on their bums. Too much resting makes you idle and nets are not as good as competitive cricket.

This central contract gives some players a comfort zone that they will get paid even if they lose form. The ECB is awash with television money and there is a lot of wastage, giving guys huge basic contracts for more than a year and then not selecting them, such as Jonny Bairstow. Key signed him up on a two-year contract, and he was paid huge money and was never going to be selected for England.

The suits who run our cricket need to rethink their relationship with domestic four-day cricket. We never get to know their names, but most of those who make the decisions have no idea about playing at the top level and are more interested in how much money can be made or saved.

They should be trying to organise more county four-day cricket for all our players before a home Test series begins. They need to stretch Test series out over a longer period and adapt a county schedule so that our players can play competitive cricket in between Tests.

On tours, make it essential that the England team have a number of matches prior to and in-between Tests.

If the players and their union moan about it, then just remind them that their way of no match cricket before a series, just nets and lots of golf, did not work in this Ashes series.

I would rather scrap central contracts, but if I had to have them, then make them for one year only with lower basic pay, higher appearance fees and bonuses to incentivise getting in the XI and winning.

Our players are disrespectful to past great England cricketers and their helpful views. They are wrapped in cotton wool and overpaid. Time to get tougher with them because their way hasn’t won anything in three years.

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Look at some of the players on this tour. Zak Crawley is a hit-and-miss batsman. Mainly miss, and then he seduces us with a blistering innings. It should not be enough to keep his place. Improve technique and discipline or you’re out.

Ollie Pope is a lost cause because he never learns. I think he would give his wicket away if he were playing in a county second XI. He can’t help himself as he finds ways to get out that I couldn’t dream up. Somewhere in his head there is a self-destruct button.

England need to get less flamboyance out of Brook and more pragmatism. He has the stroke-playing ability to be a colossus in world cricket. Thrashing bowling to all parts on flat decks is OK, but playing match-winning innings against the best bowlers on result pitches counts for more.

Mark Wood and Jofra Archer sadly are injury prone, but they have been paid fortunes in the hope that they would be huge factors in England winning the Ashes in Australia. That has been pie in the sky.

If you worked out how much they have been paid and how many Test wickets they have taken, those two would be among the highest-paid England players ever.

You have to move on from Wood. A waste of money. Too many injuries and the wrong age for the limited Test cricket you get out of him.

Archer was wrapped in cotton wool for far too long. He needed overs in his legs. It took him until this third Test to bowl good, consecutive spells. Big mistake by the coaching staff and physio department.

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Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson need to understand they are fast-medium and can’t just bounce batsmen out at this level. Discipline with concentration and a fuller length at fourth and fifth stump are necessary to build pressure on batsmen. Balls off-line or off-length get smacked at this level. Watch Scott Boland.

I like the fact that Brydon Carse has a big heart, but he repeatedly bangs the ball in too short. Any worthwhile captain would tell him to pitch the thing up, or he is out.

It is vital for England to play a world-class spinner, and it does not help the development of Shoaib Bashir when he is not selected for his county. At such a young age, he requires as much bowling as possible to learn his trade.

The ECB should be putting him with a county that plays on pitches that need a spinner and insist he bowls overs. Counties share huge money from the TV deals which is made up from televising Test matches so they do have leverage.

Telegraph, London

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