Former England Test spinner Phil Tufnell has called for changes to be made to the county cricket calendar following the latest Ashes debacle down under.
In April and May, Tufnell, 55, will be joined by colleague Jonathan Agnew on a 20-date live Test Match Special [TMS] tour, with the iconic duo set to regale audiences with the highlights of their careers, both on the field and in the commentary box.
And in an interview with The Mirror , 'The Cat' admitted "the England shambles down in Australia might get a mention."
Tufnell himself played in 12 Ashes Tests during an international career that spanned 11 years, with one of his finest hours coming in 1997 at The Oval when he took match figures of 11-93 to secure a dramatic home victory.
However, by that point, Australia had already retained the urn and the Middlesex man was able to relate to the current crop of players during their harrowing 4-0 series defeat this winter.
"I covered some of it [The Ashes] some of it during the winter and must admit it was a tough watch at 4am in the morning," he said.
"Of course the preparation, the covid bubbles, the isolation and all that stuff - it has been very, very tough for the team. But at the end of the day we didn't perform and it's as simple as that.
"I've been on a few Ashes tours and when you get a good walloping down under everyone comes back and wrings their hands - and says we got to change this and look at structures and so have you."
Tufnell stopped short of calling for drastic change, but did identify a key area where English cricket can help its red-ball side.
"I think they have now decided to put three or four County Championship games in the middle of the summer. We need that.
"We've got to play on better pitches and we've got to play as much in middle of summer as we can.
"We can't be playing red ball at the beginning of April when snow is on the ground and you got 10 jumpers on - and everyone is getting bowled out for 100 on green decks. And we can't also be playing in October when there are leaves on the the ground.
"We're a fantastic white-ball cricketing side now but the red ball just needs a bit of TLC and looking after at the moment. And people above my pay grade are looking into how we structure it.
"Everyone loves Test cricket and wants to play it. It's the pinnacle, it just needs tinkering, not massive overhauls."
In the meantime, Tufnell will focus on his return to the live stage, albeit in a different capacity to when he was starring in pantomime and hosting A Question of Sport.
"I'm really looking forward to it [the tour] and can't believe they haven't done one beforehand.
"I've done working in the theatres and you get a great feedback from an audience. Sometimes on television you can't digress, but you can wander around a bit more on a stage or on the radio. I'm sure we'll wander down a few paths and end up in a few cul-de-sacs along the way so who knows where we're gonna end up?
"It's just going to be like a normal TMS show with a few other things thrown in along the way."
Phil Tufnell and Jonathan Agnew will be on the road with The Test Match Special Tour throughout April and May 2022. Tickets available from www.fane.co.uk/tms.
