English opener Liam Livingstone picked up a finger injury in the warm-up game against India, when put down a catch in the deep. It sparked some panic about his involvement in the T20 World Cup, but he is expected to be fully fit before his side’s first game of the tournament against defending champions West Indies.
In the 16th over of the run chase, Ishan Kishan smashed a length delivery from Chris Jordan straight to the mid-wicket boundary, where Livingstone did not pick the ball well, and it took it on his fingers. He was in severe pain immediately after that, and was taken off the field.
However, the rumours of him not being fit were brushed aside when he took the field against New Zealand. Although he did not get going with the bat, he is expected to feature regularly once the main tournament starts.
“Liam is fine and fully fit. No other problems so far, touch wood.”
skipper Eoin Morgan told reporters.
Livingstone has not been in great form lately, having struggled to get runs in UAE. He played five games in the 2021 edition for Rajasthan Royals, mustering just 42 runs.
He was eventually dropped for the remaining few games by their management, but the fact that he has remained in the United Arabic Emirates for a while will help him at some point.
Livingstone has impressed the head coach Chris Silverwood with his form in the inaugural edition of the Hundred, where he finished as the highest run-scorer with 348 runs. Although he hails from Lancashire, he represented Birmingham Phoenix very nearly took his side to the title.
England are grouped alongside West Indies, South Africa and Australia in the Super 12 stages. They await two more teams to join from the group stages. Having reached the final last time, they will be keen to go one step further in this edition.
