"He has still got a massive point to prove" - Michael Vaughan questions Harry Brook's inclusion in the multi-year contracts list

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes Harry Brook still has a lot to prove and shouldn't have got into the multi-year central contracts list directly. Vaughan also criticized the idea of multi-year contracts, as England cricket has always had only one contract.

To combat the threat of franchise teams worldwide offering players year-long deals, England cricket has introduced multi-year contracts. The players have been divided into three categories based on their likelihood to participate in a specific format in the near future.

In his column for The Telegraph, the 2005 Ashes-winning captain questioned the system of the new contracts and wrote:

"How you can have 29 on contracts with some on three years, some on two, others on one, and three on incremental deals? For years English cricket has had one contract. Harry Brook has just come into the system and landed a three-year contract. I can’t have that. He has still got a massive point to prove."

Vaughan believes the revamped system is needless and that players who don't want to play for England should be let go. He added:

"I totally disagree with three-year deals. Let them sign multi-year franchise contracts if they want because players will always want to play for England, and if they don’t, fine, pick someone who does."

Brook has played some memorable innings for England of late in Tests and T20Is and landed a three-year contract alongside Joe Root and Mark Wood. However, the youngster's numbers are not impressive in ODIs, averaging 25.10 in 10 ODIs with two half-centuries.

"English cricket is scared of the players now" - Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan. (Image Credits: Twitter)

The 49-year-old has urged the ECB to stand up to their players if they choose to play franchise cricket full time. Vaughan added that players can get deals only if they perform well for the country.

"English cricket is scared of the players now. There is no England player who is going to suddenly disappear and not want to play in Ashes or World Cups, so stand up to them. They might land commercial deals in the IPL but the reason they are playing in the IPL in the first place is because they have done well for their country. There are very few IPL deals that come on the back of domestic performances."

A few months ago, opening batter Jason Roy had given up the incremental contract from ECB to play Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States.