Michael Vaughan is right when he says county cricketers need to go and play more cricket in places like India.

It's not a new idea. For years we have picked promising players to go on Lions Tours and we've taken good emerging players on Under-19 tours to the sub-continent. It has always been important to expose players to those sorts of pitches and to see how they deal with spin and such.

Solanki: one of few players to play in India

But it would be nice if more players went there. There has always been an exodus to so-called "comfortable" places like South Africa, Australia and New Zealand - but if the lads were savvy they'd go and play in Pakistan and India too.

One or two, such as Vikram Solanki, have gone over to learn how to play cricket in extreme heat on dusty pitches. Vaughan would like to see that done on a larger scale.

Vaughan is also flexing his muscles and is saying what I've been saying for years that county players are playing far too much cricket.

Our cricketers are running on empty and, as I wrote last week, the performance of our two best teams at the Champions Trophy was alarming.

I've been banging on about it for years (and probably boring people to death), but maybe people will listen to Vaughan. We need a better product, better players and better preparation for our signature game, county cricket.

There's some good questions on this topic from readers, so I'll expand on this a bit more at the bottom of the page.

Hammering it home

I was asked to hammer in the last bolt in the new stand at Old Trafford last week. I don't know why they asked me... I was probably the only person willing to go up in the cherry picker.

The stand is fantastic. It's hard to understand the enormity from models and drawings, but it's a massive building and will look brilliant.

People have said it's too red, but that's the colour that's synonymous with Old Trafford, the red rose and all that. I think it's great.

I also went to Whitby for a very pleasant few days this week.

We went on the North Yorkshire Moors steam train, the dog went swimming in the sea and we even visited Goathland, the village where they film the TV show Heartbeat.

It's like stepping back into the fifties. They've got the police car, we saw Scripps garage and we had fish and chips in a place called The Magpie.

Three gallons of vinegar of course...

A golden deal

My golden tie has been sold for £310 on eBay to a man from Kent.

I think he's got a bargain. This was the official Champions Trophy tie - there won't be 50 of them in existence - and this one was signed by Ricky Ponting, the captain of the winning team.

I'm very grateful that Accrington Cricket Club will benefit from that money and I know they're thrilled with the contribution.

We also had a good night at the club called Ashes Revisited. I looked back at the summer series and took a few questions, which raised a couple of grand for club funds.

They served pie and peas too, which was probably the highlight for most people!

Bumble answers your questions...

Send your questions to Bumble by filling in the feedback form below. Or you can mail them in by e-mailing skysportsclub@bskyb.com

LESS IS MORE
Bumble, do you think we should reduce the amount of counties? Australia are so good because they have six state sides, we have 18, or 21, county/other sides playing here. Do you reckon we should reduce that? It would also help distribute money and players will have to fight for their place. Sam G

BUMBLE SAYS: Sam, you're exactly right and I've been banging on about it since I was England coach and had a voice. The quality is diluted by having 18 counties and if we're not going to get rid of the counties (which seems to be a given) then we need to have two divisions with no more than nine matches in each one. There's no need to play any more - just look at every other country in the world. They play less games and they're better than us. With only nine games, every game would be a full-on event and you might find broadcasters would be more willing to show it on television too.

LIMITED APPEAL
Bumble. With ECB scrapping 50-over domestic cricket and a lot of onus on Twenty20 cricket, is 50-over cricket on its last legs? The one-day series against Australia wasn't well received, which granted was probably down to the ridiculous number of games, but is it also a sign of decline in terms of the 50 over game? Do we change it or just replace it with 20-over cricket? Andy Connor

BUMBLE SAYS: At the Champions Trophy in South Africa, the players were saying 50-over cricket is still a very good game. Ricky Ponting says there's plenty of room for that competition and I agree entirely. It's not that the competition is no good, it's that there's too much of it. If you look at the seven one-day internationals in the summer - plus the two Twenty20's - it was simply far too much. The players were all shattered and falling down injured by the end of the series and the product wasn't there for the spectators, who were fed up by the end.

So I suggest this... when teams come to England we should play three Test matches, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20's. Obviously the Ashes must be protected as a five-Test series but I think three ODI's and three Twenty20 games would have been much better than what we saw this summer. Maybe it's not exactly right, but it would reduce the number of one-day matches and would create a better event for spectators. I'd love to know what you think.

Bumble's jukebox

Congratulations to the Brigadier and the Colonel who finally got the lyrics right last week. It was 'Feelings' by Maurice Albert. Back to the usual high-quality stuff this week. See how you get on with these. Name the song and the artist.

"I know where treasure is waiting for me..."

Answers next week!

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