Today’s announcement – that Michael Vaughan has been given a central contract for the coming year – only continues to highlight the farcical confines surrounding the current England squad. Vaughan, much like opener Andrew Strauss, has consistently failed to deliver over the last 12 months yet is still rewarded with an England contract.

And it’s not as if there aren’t any alternatives in country cricket, not least Joe Denly who continues to impress in all forms of the game, and even within the England squad itself. Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah will have to make do with a 12 month increment deal as the selectors stick by 33-year-old Vaughan, who has only scored 29 runs in three innings for Yorkshire.

It doesn’t stop there, either. The one-day squad for the upcoming India tour and the Stanford tournament includes Alistair Cook, who wouldn’t be in there if it weren’t for him being in the test team. The ECB hope the possible cash incentives next month will stop dreams of playing in the IPL, but let’s hope the players make the decision. After all, the ECB look incapable of deciding what will benefit English cricket in the future.