Former England captain Michael Vaughan has encouraged the England selectors to pick young players early in their careers before they become “embedded too long in the county system”.

Writing in the Telegraph after Zak Crawley’s 267 against Pakistan, Vaughan argued that the best players are generally brought into Test cricket earlier on in their careers. “If you want good players, select them at 26,” wrote Vaughan. “But great players like Stuart Broad, James Anderson, David Gower, Ian Botham and Joe Root were picked at before the age of 23 so they had not been embedded too long in the county system. I’m not being disrespectful to county cricket. It is just a recognition that Test cricket is a completely different game to county cricket.”

Bar Rory Burns, every player currently in the England Test XI made their Test debuts before the age of 25, with six of them – Zak Crawley, Dom Bess, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Stuart Broad and James Anderson – making their maiden Test appearances aged 21 or under. Sam Curran, not in the England XI for the final Pakistan Test but involved in two Tests this summer, debuted at 19.

Crawley’s selection had raised eyebrows in some quarters. With just three first-class centuries to his name prior to his maiden England call-up and not a single season where he’d averaged over 35 behind him, it was, in some ways, a surprising selection. Vaughan, however, believes that it’s the kind of selection that England should be making more often and that it is beneficial for a player’s development if they’re picked for England early in their careers.

“In county cricket you get a bat every three days or so. It feels like you are on a conveyor belt. You can get away with not putting a high price on your wicket because you know another chance is around the corner. But in the Test game you might not bat for another 10 days. Your mistakes are analysed and criticised. It is a pressurised environment.

“Players that have spent too long in the county system struggle to cope with that side of the game so if you can take them out of the county game at 22 and into the international set up then they grow up in the right environment.

“When you pick a 25 or 26-year-old they are experienced players, but they bring county thought processes with them. So I advise selectors that if you see kids with potential to be great players get them in the international system as early as you can.”

As well as the different mindset that’s needed for players to thrive in Test cricket, Vaughan also made the point that the general nature of county pitches makes it difficult for batsmen to learn the art of scoring big hundreds. “A lot of surfaces are result pitches because coaches want to keep their jobs so you have to play a certain way,” wrote Vaughan.

“There is more risk in county cricket because you always feel there is a ball with your name on it. There are not many big hundreds made in county cricket anymore because players know a quick 50 to 80 can change the game. That is completely the opposite of Test cricket where you bat on better pitches and big scores set up the game.”

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