Sir Alastair Cook has hailed Liam Livingstone’s “coming-of-age” knock after England’s stand-in captain hit his first ODI century against the West Indies to level the series and set up a decider.
Livingstone, who was dropped for September’s one-day international against Australia before starring in T20 matches, has since been appointed captain following Jos Buttler’s calf injury – and led his side to victory on Saturday with an unbeaten 124 from 85 balls.
Having lost eight wickets to the hosts in their opener at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday – Livingstone’s top score was 48 – the tourists were criticized for not being able to turn around their good start.
“Fair play to him (Livingstone). He is under a bit of scrutiny and pressure after Thursday’s game,” said former England captain Cook TNT Sports.
“That’s the knock that’s coming. It’s really good; 46 off 57 balls – it’s not what we usually see at Livingstone.
“He got up and down and had the hunger at the end which was really good. His last 78 runs came off 28 balls. It was a strange power.
“When you have guys who are not in this team, like (Harry) Brook, (Joe) Root, (Ben) Duckett, and you have Livingstone as a finisher at No.5, then it’s a dangerous top 50 order.
“He has the opportunity to lead your country and it’s a great honor. He will go to bed satisfied. Only after he went down did he start playing at number 5.
“There aren’t many places you can hide the ball from him. Not many players have the ability to hit three sixes (in a row). He doesn’t premediate, he reacts with great skill and clarity to hit the ball clearly.”
Adil Rashid took two wickets as West Indies set England 329 to win
Cook was also full of praise for the character shown by Livingstone’s team-mate to bounce back from a heavy defeat to keep the streak alive, with Jacob Bethell, Phil Salt and Sam Curran also scoring fifties.
He added: “He was poor on Thursday, but today everyone had match toughness. Salt played well and the pitch suited him with the ball coming in. He was happy.
“I was impressed by Bethell’s maturity. He got the tempo very well. These guys are built in T20 cricket and The Hundred. In 50-over cricket you have more time to take the pressure off.”
Livingstone says he is back to enjoying cricket again
After the defeat, Livingstone said that England wanted to take risks and strengthen the attacking mentality of the team.
“There are certain things I’ve done at the end of the summer in England that I think I’ve recovered from,” Livingstone said. Sports TNT.
“Just maturing a little and understanding my game pretty well and getting back to enjoying cricket. In the end, the main thing is that I play well when I like it.
“We wanted to take risks early. I tried to get myself going and then set up for the end and target that death bowling. It worked perfectly in the end.
“Curran played well. I’ve played with him a lot, so I know I can trust him. We need someone who scores big and that’s what he’s doing now.
“I think it’s very good with the ball. Overall, a pretty good team performance and we’re back in the draw.”
West Indies vs England Schedule (all times England and Ireland)
- First ODI: Antigua – West Indies win by eight wickets (DLS)
- Second ODI: Antigua – England won by five wickets
- Third ODI: Barbados – Wednesday 6 November (6pm)
- First T20: Barbados – Saturday 9 November (8pm)
- Second T20: Barbados – Sunday 10 November (8pm)
- Third T20: St Lucia – Thursday 14 November (8pm)
- Fourth T20: St Lucia – Saturday 16 November (8pm)
- Fifth T20: St Lucia – Sunday 17 November (8pm)
Follow England’s white-ball tour of the West Indies Sky Sports‘ digital platform with live blogs and reports. The third and final international is in Barbados on Wednesday (6pm kick-off in England and Ireland).
