Liam Livingstone hopes T20 form for England will spark ODI return after shining in Australia defeat
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Published 12/09/2024 at 20:33 GMT+1
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Liam Livingstone insists he is back to his best physical condition after an injury-hit couple of years has seen him drop down the international pecking order. But in the batting order, the Lancashire right-hander is relishing a promotion to No. 4 and is hoping his form for the T20 side will see him return to the ODI squad. Livingstone took 3-22 and knocked a team-high 37 in defeat to Australia.
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Liam Livingstone is hoping to catapult himself back into the reckoning for England’s ODI squad with mounting responsibility in the T20 camp.
The all-rounder sparkled in Southampton on Wednesday evening, as England slipped to a 28-run defeat to Australia in the first of a three-match T20I series.
Leading a bowling fightback with 3-22 and putting up a team-high 37 with the bat, Livingstone was arguably England’s brightest spark on a chilly evening at the Utilita Bowl.
Promoted to No. 4 in the batting order and as the squad’s second-oldest member, the 31-year-old is relishing a more senior role in the side.
"It's up to me to make sure I try to do as well as I can and give them a bit of a headache for the next series," Livingstone said. "I don't think you'll see anybody that wants to bat lower down the order.
"I want that responsibility. I want to try to win games of cricket for England, and the higher up the order, the more chance you have of doing that.
“There's less people that can play that role [at No. 6] and sometimes you've got to take it on the chin… [but] this is a chance for me to stake my claim.
"I want to play as much cricket for England as I possibly can. Unfortunately, I won't be playing in the ODIs but it's still not something I'm giving up on.”
The blow of not being picked for the five-match 50-over series against Australia has not diminished the Lancashire right-hander’s self-belief.
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Playing a part in six out of seven T20 World Cup matches in June, Livingstone has not featured for the ODI team this calendar year.
Only Ben Duckett could better Livingstone’s score of 45 in his last 50-over appearance, against West Indies in December 2023, when he was batting at No. 8.
“I feel like I've shown over the last couple of weeks, maybe a month, that the longer I get to bat in games, the more of a chance I have to affect games,” said Livingstone.
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"I feel like I've done that in 50-over cricket as well: if you take away the World Cup, I feel like I'd done that further down the order.
“But it is what it is: I'm 31, I'm not going to sit here and cry about not being picked.
“There's plenty of cricket to be played around the world, and if I'm not involved in the ODI stuff then there's plenty more opportunities.”
Livingstone feels back to his best after an injury-hit couple of years, as problems with an ankle and then a knee ruled him out of contention for periods of time from the end of 2022.
“I've had a difficult couple of years,” admitted Livingstone. “My body has probably let me down a little bit, and maybe I haven't been up to scratch physically, with a couple of niggles here and there.
"I can run around at 100% in the field and I can bowl and bat to the best of my ability, which is something I probably haven't been able to do for two-and-a-half years."
discovery+ is the home of every international series played in India, including England's tour in 2025.
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