Players in this era have too much power. High-level sport is about being on edge and insecurity. Do they rate me? That element of having to prove every day that you deserve to be there. I see that leaving the game at the moment.

Coaches and administrators have to try and grab back some of the power. I have heard stories on this Ashes tour of England players refusing to do things they have been asked by the management. That cannot be right. Players have to be told in no uncertain terms: “This is what it takes to be an England player.” It is non-negotiable. Not the other way around.

Players have great opportunities now with franchise leagues around the world but the best contract of the lot is the Englnd central contract. The players need to be told: “You do it our way or you are not playing.” Bring a level of respect back in. The modern player thinks they can take on authority at any stage because they have other options. That will only get worse if the system allows it and English cricket needs some old-school management now. We need to grab back that power otherwise it will get worse.

Take Ollie Robinson, who is probably the most skilful bowler I have seen for England for some time. He has bowled better in his first nine Tests than Stuart Broad and James Anderson did in theirs.

But for him to be the Broad or Anderson of the future he has to change his ethics, mindset and discipline. He has to look after his body better. The best thing would be for him to miss the entire West Indies tour and to commit to getting fit for the summer. The other alternative – if they don’t trust him to be left on his own – is to take him to the Caribbean to keep an eye on him and hammer his fitness while he is out there.

Ultimately, I think they told him this a year ago and he has not done it. You can only take a horse to water. If he does not listen, drop him.

Sadly, our system is built towards creating comfortable cricketers: have a long county career and play the odd Test. Is Robinson willing to commit to the hard work of long spells and quicker bowling that would help England be more successful?

So many of these players remind me of those from the past. Ollie Pope is another good example: he has a huge amount of talent but he is wasting it.

Why can’t he leave the ball? Why is he panicking every time he goes to the middle? We are in an era where players get every ounce of help they need with coaches, analysis and support structures but he is getting worse. That is a mental thing. Only he can put that right. Why is he flapping? He has to work that out himself. He is old enough now to do that.

Players in the 1990s did not know if they were playing for England one week to the next, so you could understand why they felt vulnerable and put pressure on themselves. But not now. In this era players are looked after, and they get a decent run in the side.

Is Pope too comfortable? He goes back to Surrey, scores double centuries for fun and then comes into the England set-up on a nice contract and is looked after well. Can we be tougher with our players?

England are not alone in this. Look at Australia – they may have won this series comfortably, but even they have issues. Allegedly there is a group of players who do not like Justin Langer and he is going to be removed from his position as head coach soon.

This is a coach who drew an Ashes series in England for the first time in 18 years, won the Twenty20 World Cup and has hammered England at home.

What more can he do? Is it because the environment has to be nice and comfortable? It feels to me that a better environment is when players are on edge and have a bit of fear every time they train or walk into a team meeting.