The Telegraph Cricket Podcast · The Telegraph

Can England survive without Mark Wood? Plus, Michael gets a Phone Call…

·40 min·2 clips

Adam Gilchrist says Jamie Smith looks like England have “found one there” after the phone call about his wicketkeeping.

1. The Telegraph Cricket Podcast discusses England's Test match against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford and the selectors' choice to replace Mark Wood with Josh Hull. 2. Ben Wright hosts Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell, and Adam Gilchrist joins by phone to judge Jamie Smith's wicketkeeping and batting. 3. The episode asks whether England can keep winning with a selection model built on height, pace, and fast-tracked potential rather than long county records. 4. Vaughan and Tufnell describe Hull as a six-foot-seven left-arm quick who has not played much first-class cricket for Leicestershire. 5. They compare Hull's rapid promotion with the older route of county cricket, second XI cricket, and years of waiting before an England cap. 6. Vaughan says Josh Hull and Shoaib Bashir show England are willing to pick players for their ceiling and teach skills later. 7. He argues that great players such as David Gower, Ian Botham, Jimmy Anderson, and Alastair Cook emerged young. 8. Vaughan says county cricket is becoming a middleman that England are increasingly bypassing through the Lions and pathway system. 9. He points to Joe Hemsworth and Josh Hull as examples of players being tested by England Lions before long county résumés exist. 10. The conversation turns to Dan Lawrence opening the batting, which Vaughan sees as unusual but useful for keeping Zach Crawley's return flexible. 11. Vaughan says England are loyal to players once they are in the group, and that Lawrence has earned that trust by being around the squad for 18 months. 12. He also argues that Mark Wood is England's most important bowler because his pace creates pressure even when he is not taking wickets. 13. On the scoreboard section, Vaughan and Tufnell praise Asitha Fernando, who took 4 for 103 in the first innings and 2 for 25 in the second. 14. They also highlight Kamindu Mendis, who has three hundreds in seven Test innings and already looks like a serious Sri Lanka batting talent. 15. Chris Woakes is described as leading England's attack, with figures of 3 for 32 and 3 for 58, and Vaughan asks how close he is to Jimmy Anderson in English conditions. 16. Jamie Smith is singled out for his stop behind the stumps, his calm batting, and the idea that he could move as high as number three. 17. The tone is conversational and argumentative, with Vaughan driving most of the analysis and Tufnell giving quick comic interruptions. 18. The format moves from match review to selection debate, then into a live phone call with Gilchrist before ending on the scoreboard and a light stumping question. 19. Fans of England cricket selection debates and wicketkeeper analysis will get the most from this. 20. Listeners wanting a polished tactics podcast with no chatty detours may skip it.

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