‘Others ahead of Livingstone’

told their Test vicecaptain to take his time returning to action, following an unsuccessful first operation in April that contributed to him taking an indefinite break last summer to protect his mental health. But performance director Mo Bobat acknowledged a change in mood when revealing the 14-man England Lions squad that will shadow the full side in Australia from November 4 onwards. ‘As people are probably noticing more broadly and we have noticed internally from all of our communication with him, to see his excitement return and him trusting his finger again — which is really important — is hugely positive,’ said Bobat. ‘Ultimately, given what he’s experienced and where he has been, it is important that he and we move at the right pace for him. There is certainly no expectation or pressure from us. ‘It’s a case of us supporting Ben physically and however else we need to support him, so that he can continue to progress at the rate he feels comfortable.’ Stokes, whose sensational hundred at Headingley two years ago inspired one of the great Ashes Test wins, was ‘not even thinking about cricket’ last month but appears to have been buoyed by an operation by Leeds-based consultant Doug Campbell on October 4 that finally allowed him to grip a bat handle properly for the first time since he fractured his finger at the Indian Premier League six months ago. Tantalisingly, the first Test at the Gabba is eight weeks away, and Stokes could be match fit by mid-November. Around that time, the full England team will play the Lions in a three-day match, followed by a four-day fixture which is expected to have firstclass status. In all, 31 players have been chosen and Bobat confirmed that the ECB are open to individuals from outside the 17-man Ashes squad joining the full tour. Although the Lions trip ends on December 16, some might be asked to stay on, he said, while he did not discount turning to the likes of Liam Livingstone and James Vince — both of whom are expected to play in the Big Bash — in an emergency. Livingstone (left) did not make the cut for the second-string group because ‘from a red-ball perspective, it felt like there were other players ahead of him right now’, explained Bobat. Those selected have been reminded of the minimum fitness levels required to board the plane in three weeks. The ECB’s physical testing works on a traffic light system in which two reds prove terminal. However, ahead of a fortnight of training at the academy in Loughborough, Bobat insisted: ‘We try to work with players to catch them in, not catch them out.’ Meanwhile, Australia top-order batter Will Pucovski has suffered what is thought to be his 10th concussion after being hit on the head by a ball during a State practice session.