Michael Vaughan: England’s cricketers need to copy Scottie Scheffler’s approach to improve

Michael Vaughan OBE believes modern cricketers should take inspiration from golf’s world No.1 Scottie Scheffler by playing and practising more regularly to reach their potential.

The former England captain said players risk losing rhythm by resting too often, especially batters, who he argues should spend more time in match conditions.

Vaughan was speaking on Betfair and The Overlap’s Stick to Cricket show alongside Sir Alastair Cook, David Lloyd and Phil Tufnell.

The episode also sees Tufnell relive witnessing Shane Warne’s “Ball of the Century” firsthand, while Vaughan recalls being stopped by police after celebrating an Ashes Test in Sydney.

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Vaughan: Batters must follow Scheffler’s example

“If you look at someone like Scottie Scheffler – he’s the best golfer in the world and plays every week, practices every day and gets better and better,” Vaughan said.

“In cricket, they play less. Why? I get it with bowlers because it’s a strain on the body, but batters, surely?”

Cook agreed, saying players lose sharpness without regular action: “I get that you get to a point where, eventually, you do need a bit of a break, but remember your first game of pre-season when all you did was hit inside in February and March, then you get out there and it’s just so different.

“I do not get how not playing in games can benefit you.”

Lloyd added: “That mental process when you’re out in the middle – you get one chance – a bowler has five overs, so he has 30 events to get you out, whereas you can make one mistake and then you go and sit back down. You have to play.

“Can I just take you back to when we had Wazim Akram on – he said, ‘when I was 21, I wanted to play every game going.’”

Tufnell recalls Warne’s first Ashes ball

Phil Tufnell remembered the disbelief among England players when Shane Warne delivered the “ball of the century” in his first Ashes appearance.

“We were all watching up the top of Old Trafford with the telly on the wall,” he said. “We didn’t have any analysis or anything like that in those days.

“We bowled first and someone’s gone ‘here you are lads, we better have a look around here. We better have a look at this Warne lad… he won’t be any good.’

“A Leggy that bowl you a couple of short ones. We were all standing around the telly and he bowls this ball and we’ve all just gone ‘f**king hell’.

“It was his first delivery in The Ashes. So, in essence, it was a loosener! Just amazing!”

Vaughan on late-night police stop in Sydney

Vaughan went on to recall how police pulled him over after he celebrated with the Aussies following the final Test of the 2003 Ashes in Sydney.

“We drank with the Aussies in their dressing room all in our whites,” he said. “We were there a few hours and then we’re going out of the ground, and everything’s shut down.

“Remember the Gatorade truck that comes out onto the pitch? I’m walking out with Butch, John Crawley and Rob Key.

“Crawley gets in the buggy and drives us out of the SCG. We’re going down the road and at the lights when suddenly the coppers pulled in and said ’Mr Crawley, you better just take that back please!’”

The panel’s top Ashes moments

The Stick to Cricket panel ranked their all-time favourite Ashes memories:

1. Ben Stokes’ miracle at Headingley (2019)
2. Ian Botham’s heroics at Headingley (1981)
3. Stuart Broad’s 8-15 in 2015
4. Shane Warne’s ball of the century (1993)
5. Andrew Flintoff’s over at Edgbaston (2005)
6. Steve Smith’s double century

Episode 21 of the Betfair and The Overlap’s Stick to Cricket show can be found here.

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