by England all-rounder Liam Livingstone is determined to prove his belief that he is an “asset to any cricket team” when he is fully fit after more than two years of injury.
After rushing back from an ankle ligament injury to feature in England’s 2022 T20 World Cup triumph, the Cumbrian suffered a knee injury just weeks later during his only Test appearance in Pakistan.
Form and fitness difficulties since then have contributed to England leaving Livingstone out of their ODI set-up for now, with the 31-year-old retained for just three T20s against Australia.
But, after recently turning a corner in fitness, Livingstone claimed three wickets and made 37 from 27 balls in a 28-run defeat in the series opener at the Utilita Bowl, hinting at better days ahead.
“I feel like a little kid again, I feel like I’m starting a new career, to be honest,” Livingstone said. “Life with problems is not much fun.
“I can run 100 per cent on the field and I can bowl and bat to the best of my ability, which I probably haven’t been able to do for two and a half years.
“Mentally, more than anything, it’s really nice to be able to play pain-free cricket again and I think if I get back to my best I’ll feel like I’m an asset to any cricket team I play in.
“I’m playing cricket with a smile again, that’s when I play at my best. Fingers crossed it stays that way for a while.”
Livingstone described his exclusion from England’s ODI squad ahead of five matches against Australia this month as a “pretty simple phone call” with Rob Key, the men’s cricket chief executive.
His hopes of being recalled ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy appear to hinge on his ability to stand out in the T20s and he was helped by his promotion to fourth in the batting order against Australia.
Having spent much of his international career as a reluctant finisher, Wednesday was only the ninth time in 49 T20s that Livingstone had batted in the top four and he welcomed the added responsibility.
“I don’t think you’ll see anyone who wants to bat lower down the order,” he said. “There are fewer people who can play that role and sometimes you have to accept that.
“Series like this, where you have the opportunity to move up the rankings, it’s a chance for me to make my mark. I want to try and win cricket for England and I think the higher you go up the rankings the more likely you are to do that.
“I think winning T20 cricket matches for England could increase my chances of getting back into the one-day team. But that’s the way it is, I’m 31, I’m not going to sit here and cry because I haven’t been selected.”
Livingstone was one of only four players over the age of 30 in Southampton’s XI as England look to usher in a new white-ball era after a disappointing 12 months in which they conceded both World Cups.
England fielded three debutants in Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Overton but looked to have at least one light hitter and will consider making changes ahead of Friday’s must-win second T20 in Cardiff.
As one of the more experienced players, Livingstone is happy to monitor the newcomers but insisted they cannot blame their refreshment for further poor results against their Ashes rivals.
“It’s weird but I feel really old in this team so I have to give the younger guys a bit more direction, take some pressure off them,” Livingstone added.
“The challenge for us as a group now is to get up to speed as quickly as possible and not use this changing of the guard as an excuse to take some time to get up to speed.”
