Lamb captained both Northants and occasionally England

Former Northants and England star Allan Lamb has urged modern coaches to give players the chance to express themselves and stop pampering them.

Lamb, 54, played 79 Tests and 122 one- day internationals for England, and scored more than 20,000 first-class runs for the county.

"What worries me about the modern game is all the backroom staff," he told BBC Radio Northampton.

"The players are getting so mollycoddled, it's ridiculous."

He added: "A coach doesn't have to be at the forefront of the team it's the captain who should be taking charge.

"These young players have to go out and express themselves on the pitch, they shouldn't be told how to play.

"When you're out in the middle there's only one person who can do it, and that's you."

Lamb retired from the game in 1995 and has ruled out a return to Northants in an off-field role, unless he was allowed a meaningful say in how the team is run.

"I've been asked a couple of times about getting involved again but I'm in business and it's not easy to get time away from that.

"In any case, I wouldn't just want to have my name on the committee. I'd want to have some input in what was happening."

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