This is quite a turnaround for Liam Livingston.
After initially being dropped by England for September’s one-day internationals against Australia, he now finds himself captaining his country against the West Indies in the same format.
Jos Buttler’s calf injury, an ongoing problem that has meant the regular white-ball captain has not played an innings since June, has ruled him out of three games in the Caribbean, the first of which is in Antigua on Thursday.18:00 UK and Ireland).
So Livingston is at the helm on an interim basis. A Ruud van Nistelrooy figure if you will, although as a Blackburn Rovers supporter he might prefer to be compared to Tony Parkes.
Harry Brooke featured for Buttler in Australia’s ODIs but has just finished the Test series in Pakistan and is currently training in New Zealand, so is not out in the Caribbean.
So inexperienced with the England ODI squad for this task, four players (Jaffer Chouhan, Michael Pepper, John Turner and Dan Muslin) have not played any international cricketwhile some others (including Jacob Bethel and Jordan Cox) were less so; Livingston was one of the few candidates for the captaincy, likely to bat alongside Phil Salt and fellow batsman Sam Curran.
Livingston. “I want the next few games to be a lot of fun, play some good cricket, win some games and then hand the reins back to Jos.”
“It’s not every day someone tells you you’re going to be England captain. It’s incredibly proud of me,” said Livingston, 31, after becoming a mainstay within weeks.
“My job as an experienced player is to help these guys and make them as comfortable as possible in this environment.
“I want the next few games to be a lot of fun, play some good cricket, win some games and then hand the reins back to Jos.”
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Watch Livingstone’s T20 half-century against Australia
In fact it was T20 international cricket, the format in which he hit England’s fastest hundred, off just 42 balls, against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 2021, that brought Livingstone Avenue back to the 50-over side.
Last month’s 37 off 27 balls and then 37 off 87 in T20s against Australia while batting at No.4, coupled with Buttler’s continued injury absence, saw him added to the ODI squad and he played in all five matches, batting 6- to the th number. .
Around two ducks and 13, he smoked an unbeaten 33 from 20 balls at Durham and then 67 from 27 balls at Lord’s, with those innings helping England to victory twice.
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Livingstone scored the fastest ODI half-century off 25 balls at Lord’s against Australia in September.
“I feel the best is yet to come”
“Staying out is part of professional sports. I sat down with Rob Key (men’s cricket manager), had a really honest chat with him and said, “All I want is one more chance and I hope I can prove you wrong.” .
“In the series against Australia I certainly felt I did that. I’m in a very different place than I was six or 12 months ago, I feel like a kid, like I’m almost at the start of a new career. .
“I feel like the best of me is yet to come.”
Livingston has lived a strange existence in England, often batting in the lower middle-order and being accused of bouncing off the first ball, while then serving as a part-time waistline spinner around Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, the latter of whom he now has. retired.
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Livingstone celebrated football after sacking Australia’s Steve Smith this summer
It has made it difficult for him to impact games regularly, but he wants to play a bigger role now and it will be interesting to see if he goes higher than No.6 against the West Indies without Buttler, Brook, Ben Duckett’s Or. Jamie Smith.
In his 30 ODIs, Livingston has only been bowled at No.6 twice. Only twice has he faced more than 50 deliveries.
“I’ve always said I know I’m good enough to play for England, but maybe I need more responsibility than I’ve been getting. I don’t think I got that in the last two years,” he added.
Livingstone wants to take on more responsibility in the England team
“If you’re batting seven and only playing a few overs, it becomes quite a difficult role for someone who wants to get involved.
“I feel like I’ve worked out a few things with my batting and had a really good end to the summer.
“Now I’m excited to get the bat back in my hand and prove that I’m a better player than someone who hits seven. “I think I can do more damage if I hit 60 balls instead of 20.”
West Indies v England Fixtures (All Time Great Britain & Ireland)
- First ODI. Antigua – Thursday, October 31 (6:00 p.m.)
- Second ODI. Antigua – Saturday, November 2 (1:30 p.m.)
- Third ODI. Barbados – Wednesday, November 6 (6pm)
- First T20. Barbados – Saturday November 9 (20:00)
- Second T20. Barbados – Sunday November 10 (20:00)
- Third T20. Saint Lucia – Thursday, November 14 (20:00)
- Fourth T20. Saint Lucia – Saturday, November 16 (20:00)
- Fifth T20. Saint Lucia – Sunday, November 17 (20:00)
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