Former England captain Michael Vaughan has backed Liam Livingstone for an England Test call-up after the latter’s latest blitz in the Indian Premier League.
England’s Test fortunes have nosedived in recent times, with a stretch of one win in 17 Tests leading to the departures of their head coach, captain, and managing director.
There are only a few players certain to be picked for the first Test of the summer – Ben Stokes, former captain Joe Root, and possibly Jonny Bairstow – with uncertainty around how England’s team will look come the Test series against New Zealand leading to plenty to be touted as potential solutions. Vaughan has put forward Livingstone’s name, with the Lancashire batter having today smashed another half-century in the Indian Premier League.
“I really think Liam Livingstone could be a really good No. 6/7,” Vaughan tweeted. “His technique is good enough. Plus what he could offer with his bowling/fielding & confidence is something I would like to see in the team..”
I really think @liaml4893 could be a really good Test No 6/7 !! His technique is good enough .. Plus what he could offer with his bowling / fielding & confidence is something I would like to see in the team .. #IPL2022
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) April 17, 2022
Livingstone averages 38.36 in first-class cricket, more than the likes of Dan Lawrence, Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler, all of whom have either featured for England recently.
Livingstone came close to a Test debut in 2018, when he was selected in the England Test squad to face New Zealand on the back of a stellar outing with the England Lions team in Sri Lanka, where he became only the second cricketer after Kevin Pietersen to score a century in both innings of an England second-string first-class fixture.
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During England’s Test series against India in 2021, Shane Warne vouched for Livingstone’s inclusion. Warne, speaking on Sky Cricket’s coverage of the series, said: “If Buttler does go to be with his wife, is there any chance Livingstone could come in to the Test side? He averages 40 in Test [first-class] cricket, he’s in unbelievable. I just think it might be time that he comes in and [England] play ‘The Beast’.”
Livingstone’s recent form in red-ball cricket has tailed off, with opportunities limited. Since the start of the 2018 summer, he has only averaged 29.14 with a solitary century, and since the start of 2020, he has played just eight first-class games. Livingstone has become a regular in white-ball cricket for England in that time, with the IPL and other franchise commitments also standing in the way of him playing in first-class cricket more regularly. But he has recently reiterated his ultimate desire to represent England in the longest format. A T20I regular, he talked, prior to the 2021-22 Ashes series, about how he was targeting Test cricket and has pledged to be ready if an opportunity knocks at his door.
“I’ve said all along, the biggest goal for any cricketer growing up is to play Test cricket for your country,” he told the Guardian. “How that happens, I don’t know at the moment. Two or three years ago I thought red-ball cricket was the stronger part of my game, but I’ve spent so much time on white-ball cricket that it’s probably overtaken it now.”
