Livingstone: I’m fired up to play in Test matches

LIAM LIVINGSTONE has not given up hope of breaking into the national side – despite another setback. The power-hitting batsman, 26, may be snapped up by teams in the IPL and Big Bash but has been overlooked by England bosses again. The Lancashire ace last week missed out on the 30-man squad, having been involved in an initial 55-player training group. But it has not dampened his ambition to play Test cricket. Livingstone has just two T20 appearance for England in the summer of 2017, when he failed to make an impression.

But he said: “I have matured since then. If the opportunity arises again it will be a completely different experience for me.

“I feel like I’m a totally different person and totally different cricketer.

“I’m only 26, I have a lot of years left. I feel that scoring runs in red-ball cricket is much more satisfying than with the white ball.

“I average 42 in first-class cricket which not many

English batsmen around at the moment do. I feel I have the game for Test cricket.

“People may see me as a guy who just plays all around these T20 leagues. But I think I have a really strong red-ball game and it’s something I’m still working on.”

Livingstone is confident he could cope with the demands of Test cricket.

“I made my IPL debut at Mumbai in front of 65,000 people,” he said. “That’s why you go to play in these tournaments – to improve as cricketers and also to get used to that environment, to the pressure of playing in front of a huge crowd.”