“You have to ask whether the county game is producing the players we need,” Bayliss told ESPNcricinfo. “Is the competition underneath [England] doing the job it should be? There’s a huge gap between county and international cricket. Huge.”

Bayliss, whose England tenure ended with the final Ashes Test at The Oval, where England secured a 2-2 series draw, believes that trimming the team count from the current 18 to 10 could help enhance county standards.

Bayliss also isn’t entirely convinced with the fashion of inviting international cricketers from other countries to ply their trade in county cricket, given the advantage they gain ahead of their tours to England.

“I find it incredible that Marnus Labuschagne, Peter Siddle, Cameron Bancroft, James Pattinson and the like are invited over to play county cricket ahead of an Ashes series,” he adds. “There’s no way Australia would allow England players to acclimatise in the Shield ahead of an Ashes series. And quite right, too. I think the ECB should have a look at that.”