England’s Livingstone ‘feels like a kid again’ after injury setbacks

SOUTHHAMPTON: England all-rounder Liam Livingstone believes he´s starting a “new career” after more than two years of injury woes.

The 31-year-old rushed back from ankle ligament damage to feature in England´s 2022 T20 World Cup triumph, but then injured his knee a few weeks later in his lone Test appearance in Pakistan.

Problems with both form and fitness have led England to omit Livingstone from their current one-day international squad, but he remains involved in the ongoing three-match T20 series against Australia.

The spinner showed his all-round worth in Wednesday´s series opener in Southampton, taking 3-22 and scoring a quickfire 37 off 27 balls, although his contributions were unable to prevent a 28-run loss.

“I feel like a little kid again, I feel like I´m starting a new career to be honest,” Livingstone said. “Life with niggles is not very fun. “Mentally, more than anything, it feels really nice to be back playing cricket pain-free and I think, if I get back to my best, I feel like I´m an asset to any cricket team I play in.

“I´m back playing cricket with a smile on my face, that´s when I play at my best. Fingers crossed it stays that way for a while.” Livingstone earned his reputation in white-ball cricket as a ´finisher´ whose aggressive batting style made him valuable at the end of matches.