319 for 14
England have to send batsmen back in during warm-up fiasco
THE good news for Liam Livingstone is that he dominated a miserable day by making the most of his first senior opportunity in white clothing for England. The bad is that it will almost certainly not be enough to earn him a first Test place. Livingstone was the only England batsman to show anything like the application needed against a red or, in this case, pink ball by making 88 on a day otherwise full of slapdash batting that saw them lose 14 wickets. Yet even though he gave the established batsmen a ‘kick up the backside’, it would take a drastic change of heart for England to abandon their pre-Test series planning and catapult Livingstone into the first Test in Auckland next week, particularly if Ben Stokes is only able to play as a batsman. ‘It was a tough day,’ admitted Livingstone, whose side have another two-day tour match — this time played with a red ball — today, before the first Test begins on March 22. ‘We wanted to treat this as if it were the first Test of three but I don’t think we did that to be honest. It’s difficult when you know if you lose 10 wickets, you’re still out there. ‘I’ve just come here with open ears and eyes to try to learn from some of the best players in the world. I feel ready to step in if I’m needed.’ Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman and James Vince all fell twice, with England 195-10 after 46 overs. Livingstone was the only positive, hitting 13 fours and one six as England ended on 319. It had already been decided that England would bat all day so Stoneman walked back out to join Livingstone as they had a second go under the Seddon Park lights. Only when Livingstone aimed a wild drive in keeping with the day’s indiscipline in the first over after ‘dinner’ at Nathan Smith and edged through to Tom Blundell did he let himself down. ‘A few of them will be disappointed they didn’t spend longer at the crease,’ batting coach Graham Thorpe told Sky Sports. ‘But Liam played very well. He’s not in the potential starting XI but he’s shown what he’s capable of.’