White-ball star Liam Livingstone gets England test call-up
Cricket
White-ball star Liam Livingstone gets England test call-up
LONDON (AP) — England is giving white-ball star Liam Livingstone another chance to play in its test team.
In a bold call for the three-match test tour of Pakistan starting in December, England selected Livingstone in its 15-man squad despite the big-hitting allrounder not playing first-class cricket in more than a year while he focused his efforts on the limited-overs formats.
The 29-year-old Livingstone was called up for the test series against New Zealand in 2018 but didn’t play and has since been overlooked. He has played only eight games for Lancashire in the two previous campaigns in the County Championship, averaging 11 in 2021 and 18.5 in 2020.
However, his aggressive style suits the attacking instincts of test captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum while his bowling is also an attractive option in Pakistan, given his ability to switch easily between offspin and legspin depending on the opponent.
While the selection of Livingstone and another uncapped allrounder, Will Jacks, was something of a surprise, the dropping of opener Alex Lees was not given he failed to earn a central contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board this week.
The left-hander averaged only 23.64 from 10 appearances for England this year. Zak Crawley was retained in the squad despite his own modest record and will fight with the recalled Keaton Jennings and Ben Duckett for a place in the team.
