Phil Tufnell identifies key change to be made if England are to recover from Ashes mess

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