Livingstone hails impact of Ahmed

TEENAGE leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has shone for England in the Caribbean to such an extent that Adil Rashid’s absence has gone unnoticed, according to allrounder Liam Livingstone, writes David Charlesworth.

Rashid is arguably the greatest white-ball bowler England have ever produced and, even though he has previously intimated he has many more years left, the double World Cup winner turns 36 in February.

He will be back for the T20 series against the Windies later this month after being rested for the ODIs, but the hole left by the Yorkshireman has been filled seamlessly by Ahmed.

Ahmed is England’s youngest senior male player in all three formats and has furthered his blossoming reputation against the Windies by recording identical figures of two for 40 from ten overs, with one maiden, in two ODIs in Antigua.

Livingstone believes that he is getting the rub of the 19-yearold’s reliability after taking three wickets with his own spin on Wednesday, where England’s win set up a series decider in Barbados today.

“The flexibility that we’ve got – Rehan has obviously come in and replaced Rash, we don’t even know that Rash isn’t here,” Livingstone said.

“Rehan’s been incredible for us, he’s an exceptional talent we’ve got coming through.

“What one of our strengths has been for years is the depth we have, not only in our batting, but our bowling as well. As a spin department we’ll be happy with (the win).”

Livingstone, by his own estimation, is a bowler who bats rather than the other way around as his runs have dried up since ending the English summer with a flourish against New Zealand.

Following an unbeaten 95 at the Ageas Bowl, the Cumbrian has a top-score of 28 in his last nine innings, while he averaged a paltry ten in six knocks during England’s miserable World Cup.

Asked to pinpoint where he might be going wrong, he said: “If I had the reason I’d have changed it by now. I keep turning up to training, trying as hard as I can.”

England’s women, meanwhile, play their second T20 in India this afternoon.