"It's still not 100%, and it wasn’t through the World Cup" - Liam Livingstone on his ankle injury
England batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone has said that he played the T20 World Cup 2022 with an injury. However, the 29-year-old added that flying with a World Cup medal made that worth it.
Livingstone injured his ankle during The Hundred 2022 but recovered in time for the T20 World Cup. The right-hander crafted some crucial cameos and chipped in with useful overs to help England win their second T20 World Cup.
World Champions @englandcricket what a day!!!!! 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴 https://t.co/R99iJqYoYj
Speaking to Sportsmail, Livingstone recalled how he suffered the injury while going out for breakfast. The 29-year-old added that he's still not 100% fit but participating in the tournament was worth it. He said:
"I fell down a kerb trying to dodge a puddle, one morning when we were going out for breakfast in London. The whole winter flashed in front of my eyes. It was a 12 week injury, with seven weeks and four days till the first World Cup game. It's still not 100%, and it wasn’t through the World Cup."
Livingstone continued:
"I didn’t actually start sprinting till a week before the first World Cup game, but letting my mum and dad fly home with a World Cup medal made all the struggles worth it."
The Lancashire player reminisced about taking England over the line in the final alongside Ben Stokes as he hailed the all-rounder's calmness under pressure. He said:
"The pair of us being there at the end, as two Cumbrians, was pretty cool. We had two big pressure moments in that World Cup, and Ben was there for both of them. He’s that once in a generation player. I knew if he was there at the end, we’d be world champions."
Stokes' form was a concern before the tournament, but as he stood up with the bat in two must-win games. After a patient 42* against Sri Lanka to take England to a nervy win, the left-hander struck a match-winning fifty in the final against Pakistan.
"We continued the celebrations in Dubai" - Liam Livingstone
Livingstone, who's in Abu Dhabi to prepare for the Test series against Pakistan, said that England celebrated like they'll never win a World Cup again. He said:
"It's been a hell of a week, without much sleep. If you don’t celebrate winning a World Cup, then what are you going to celebrate? We continued the celebrations in Dubai when we got here and got it all out of the system. You never know if you’ll win a World Cup again."
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I’m sure one day this will sink in… 🙌🙌🙌 what a day, what a group of lads to do it with! ❤️🏴 https://t.co/cAh9aMIqqc
England's next assignment is a three-Test series against Pakistan, starting on December 1 in Rawalpindi.