Vaughan speaks his mind

Nearly four months after his retirement, Michael Vaughan talks to the Guardian's Andy Bull about his love of skiing, how it was an easy decision to quit once he wasn't part of the Ashes squad, dealing with the press, and realising how special the Ashes '05 win was. He also has clear ideas on how the game should be run in England.

The Ashes victory this summer, he suggests, was crucial in deflecting attention away from the problems in the game, and helped brush the Stanford farrago in particular "under the carpet". "If we hadn't have won the Ashes this year we'd have seen a bit inquest into the game of cricket in this country," he says with assurance. "Now we've won the Ashes it gets smoothed over. But I'd like to see a more dynamic group of people in charge. I've always said that the game should be run by a board of eight people. They should run everything: fixtures, structures, finances. At the moment there are too many stakeholders. You're not sure who to criticise if it goes badly, you're not to sure who to praise if it goes well. Have a board of eight, ex-players, business representation, admin, media. Get them in a room and let them run the game."