Liam Livingstone's 3 best all-round performances for England ft. ENG vs AUS 2nd T20I
Liam Livingstone has proved to be a handy white-ball cricketer for England. An aggressive right-handed batter, the 31-year-old has featured in 25 ODIs and 50 T20Is, scoring 558 and 815 runs, respectively. He made his Test debut in Rawalpindi against Pakistan in December 2022 but ended up getting injured and hasn't played a red-ball game for England since.
Coming back to his limited-overs stats, the talented England cricketer has notched up three half-centuries in one-dayers, a format in which he has an average of 29.36 and a strike rate of 102.95. In T20Is, Livingstone has an impressive strike rate of 151.48 and an average of 26.29. He has two half-centuries in the format and one ton - his only three-figure score in international cricket.
Although primarily an all-rounder, Livingstone is also useful with the ball and can bowl both off-spin and leg-spin. He has 17 scalps in ODIs and 29 in T20Is. So, let's look at his three best all-round performances for England.
#3 (33 & 1-4) vs India, Lord's ODI - July 2022
Livingstone chipped in with bat and ball as England hammered India by 100 runs at Lord's in the second ODI of the three-match series in July 2022. Sent into bat, England put up 246 on the board. Livingstone contributed a run-a-ball 33. The right-handed batter struck two fours and two sixes in his 49-minute stay before pulling a short ball from Hardik Pandya to deep square leg.
In reply, the Men in Blue were bundled out for 146 in 38.5 overs. Left-arm pacer Reece Topley starred with 6-24, while four others, including Livingstone, claimed one wicket each. The spinner dismissed Ravindra Jadeja with the first ball of his spell. The left-handed batter was beaten by a yorker-length off-spinner as he attempted to flick one across the line.
#2 (3-22 & 37) vs Australia, Southampton T20I - September 2024
Livingstone starred with 3-22 as England made a strong comeback following a poor start with the ball in Southampton in the first T20I of the ongoing three-match series against Australia. After winning the toss and electing to field first, the hosts restricted Australia to 179 in 19.3 overs.
Travis Head (59 off 23) and Matthew Short (41 off 26) added 86 in six overs to get the Aussies off to a rollicking start. Livingstone, however, picked three crucial wickets to bring England back into the contest at The Rose Bowl.
The spinner ended Short's innings as the opener top-edged a slog-sweep to deep backward square. He then trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw for 10 and dismissed Tim David (0) next ball. The latter attempted a pre-meditated sweep but missed the full delivery and was caught right in front of the stumps as England took the DRS.
Chasing 180, England were all-out for 151 in 19.2 overs. Even as the hosts went down by 28 runs, Livingstone top-scored with 37 off 27 balls. The right-handed batter struck four fours and a six before inside-edging a full delivery from Josh Hazlewood onto his stumps.
#1 (2-16 & 87) vs Australia, Cardiff T20I - September 2024
Livingstone came up with a superb all-round show as England beat Australia by three wickets at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series. The 31-year-old claimed 2-16 with the ball and followed it up with 87 off 47 as England pulled off a challenging chase.
Batting first, the Aussies posted a competitive 193-6 on the board. For the Englishmen, Livingstone claimed two crucial wickets to hamper Australia's progress. He ended Jake Fraser-McGurk's impressive knock (50 off 31), as the young batter toe-ended a slog to long-on. Stoinis (2) perished similarly and was also caught at long-on.
Livingstone then played a scintillating knock to put England on course for a series-leveling win. He hit six fours and five sixes in his half-century, adding 90 runs for the fourth wicket with Jacob Bethell (44 off 24). The former raced to a 27-ball fifty with consecutive sixes off Stoinis before slamming the next ball for a four.
Livingstone's knock ended when he was bowled in the penultimate over by Short, but not before he had smacked the bowler for a six and a four. England needed only one run to win when he was dismissed. There was some drama as Brydon Carse fell next ball, but the hosts eventually crossed the finish line.