Hussain said his successor's approach would not have worked when he was in charge of the side from 1999 to 2003.

"Back then people would have just gone through the motions and possibly walked all over Vaughan being so relaxed," Hussain told BBC Five Live.

"I don't think Vaughan's style would have worked but I don't think my style would have worked now."

In 1999, when central contracts were still in the future, Hussain said England players would turn up to a Test match, hunt around for freebies and then go back to the county who employed them not particularly worried if they had failed.

It was Hussain's "bad cop" approach when he took the helm which began to instil discipline and get England on the winning trail again.

But now, it is a different scenario.

Hussain said: "One of the reasons I had to pack it in was because the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Andrew Strauss needed to be let go and released to express themselves."

"That's where Vaughan has been exceptional. He's given them the confidence to go out there and enjoy their cricket.

"That's exactly what Harmison and Flintoff need. You can see how they have progressed -- they needed me to take them to a certain level and then Vaughan to take them that extra distance."

Hussain struggles to understand why England are touring Zimbabwe in November.

"Nothing's really changed -- it seems to be fudged again," he said, referring back to the 2003 World Cup match in Harare when he was still captain and in which he and his players refused to play.

"I just don't understand the honesty any more and the promises that were made. It seems to be 'well we better go just because of the finances'.

"Harmison has said he's not going because nothing has changed and the situation has got worse if anything.

"It's almost like an England B team playing against a Zimbabwe C team.

"The captain doesn't particularly want to go and his bosses are telling him he has to go. What sort of a state will the team be in?

"The people don't really want you to go, the government doesn't really want you to go.

"What is the point of going except for the financial situation?"