Livingstone to miss out on Lions tour Down Under
LIAM LIVINGSTONE has fired up the imagination this summer with some of the most destructive hitting of a white ball in years.
But it has not been enough to get him into either the Ashes squad or even the back-up B team travelling to Australia to help sharpen up the squad ahead of the first Test.
England named a 14-man Lions squad, who will depart for Australia on November 4 and return in mid-December.
Those reserves are set for a key role ahead of the first Test in Brisbane, tackling Joe Root’s side in a full-on competitive first-class four-day warm-up game.
But while Saqib Mahmood, Dom Sibley and Matt Parkinson were among names who will be hoping to make a late dart into the Ashes squad should injuries hit or their form demand, the summer’s biggest breakout star will not be there.
England have been accused by high-profile pundits of selecting a “predictable” Ashes squad and Livingstone would undoubtedly have been an exciting left-field pick.
England yesterday suggested that Livingstone will have to do more if he is to make the grade at Test level. “Liam’s clearly a player of high potential, he’s had a fantastic year, particularly in white-ball cricket,” said England’s performance director Mo Bobat.
“I’m really looking forward to watching him at the T20 World Cup do his thing and hopefully help England do as well as we can out there. From a redball perspective, quite simply, it felt like there were other players ahead of him right now.”
Livingstone, who has a confident swagger about him, averages 38.36 in first-class cricket after 62 matches – figures that compare favourably with 36.00 and 34.33 in ODI and T20 cricket respectively.
“He’s done incredibly in whiteball cricket but some of his redball numbers in the last couple of years might not have been what he’s wanted,” said Bobat.
“He’s probably missed a bit of cricket as well from being around England environments, which some of the players have dealt with and wrestled with.
“But do we think there’s a player there with potential there across all disciplines – he’s someone we’ll keep having an interest in – I don’t think that’s going to change.”