Livingstone is the answer to England’s

CHRIS OSTICK

ASHLEY Giles believes Liam Livingstone can solve England’s batting problems during the Ashes this winter.

But he has urged the selectors not to pick Lancashire team-mate Haseeb Hameed, and says the opener ‘is technically not right at the moment.’

The former England and Lancashire head coach watched Livingstone score a stunning 224 against his Warwickshire side in their Specsavers County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford this week.

The 24-year-old struggled when called up to the England T20 side earlier this summer. But having worked with him while with the Red Rose over over the last two years – and handing him his first-team debut – Giles believes Livingstone could be a left-field pick to fill one of the problematic batting slots in England’s top order.

Giles said: “I think Livingstone’s going to be an excellent player. He’s a smart cricketer with good stats behind him.

“I spent a lot of time with him last year. I think he’s a high-quality player with a good head on him.

“When I watched him in the T20s for England, I was a bit worried. He looked incredibly nervous, and I’ve never seen him like that.

“We know that Test cricket is that sort of pressure cooker, but he has a natural ability and scores quickly.

“Every challenge, as with Jos Buttler when he first came into the England side, it takes you time to settle in. His strike rate’s about mid-sixties in first-class cricket, and we have to take that into account. It doesn’t mean you can be loose, but against the Aussies you want to score at a rate.

“I’d bat him at five or behind Ben Stokes or Bairstow if they bat him at five.”