Michael Vaughan Slams Alastair Cook, Says He Benched Players Better Than Him

Former skipper Michael Vaughan accused Alstair Cook of dropping players, who are better than him, and also said that if the England cricket captain doesn't step down voluntarily then the selectors should sack him.

Vaughan said Cook was dropping players like all-rounder Ravi Bopara, who are better than him in the ODIs. He also said that Cook should immediately be replaced by Eoin Morgan. (Also read: Alastair Cook vows to remain ODI captain till World Cup)

"Well, now is the time to take risks and replace Alastair Cook as captain of the one-day team....I think it is getting to the stage now when that harsh reality has hit home for England. Cook is a stubborn man. He proved it this summer when he defied people calling for him to go and made his point by winning the Test series against India," Vaughan wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

"But one-day cricket is different. If he is not going to stand down then the tough call has to be made. If he is not willing to resign and James Whitaker, the national selector, and Paul Downton, the managing director of England cricket, can't see that a change needs to be made, then I seriously question the vision of the men making decisions in English cricket," he said. (Related: England can't win World Cup, admits livid Ian Botham)

Vaughan said that if Cook remains the captain, England won't be threat for other teams at the 2015 World Cup.

"With six months to go, other teams are looking at this side and hoping that Cook remains as captain, and opens the batting at next year's World Cup, because they know if that happens England will not be a threat. I am speaking out now because, with 13 games to go to the World Cup, there is time to make a difference," said Vaughan.

The former England captain wondered how Cook was telling better players than him that they don't deserve a place in the side.

"Over the last year-and-a-half Ravi Bopara has learned how to bat in the middle position at six or seven. His bowling is invaluable and he is a one-day thinker, but he is not in the team. England go to Edgbaston to play on a dry pitch likely to spin but leave out James Tredwell. The captain is going up to players telling them they are not in the team and they must be looking back wondering 'how are you still in it?'," he said.

Vaughan picked Morgan, who is also out-of-form. to lead England in ODIs.

"I think the one-day specialists are frustrated and their performances reflect the fact they are being stymied by a strategy they know is out-dated. It is why we need a one-day strategist as captain, putting across his ideas and giving England half a chance with a different approach. I know people will say Eoin Morgan is not in great form but I believe he is frustrated by the brand of cricket England are playing. He has been told to play something he does not believe in.

"If he was made captain, Morgan would take all the tricks and information he has learned playing T20 cricket around the world and change the way England play. He would bring a renewed freedom into the set-up instead of the straight-laced Englishness that pervades at the moment," he said.