Liam Livingstone will make an unexpected return to first-class cricket for Lancashire in the County Championship this week, three-and-a-half years after his first. only Test cap for England.
Livingstone was a left-field pick for England's Test tour to Pakistan in late 2022 but was injured while fielding in the first Test at Rawalpindi,. has not played any first-class cricket since, with his schedule increasingly dominated by franchise cricket. Earlier this year, he signed a T20-only contract with Lancashire which appeared to mark the end of his red-ball career.
But he has answered an 'SOS' from captain James Anderson. head coach Steven Croft to play Lancashire's next two Championship fixtures against Kent and Derbyshire, helping to alleviate an injury crisis with Chris Green, Luke Wells, Arav Shetty, Ajeet Singh Dale, Paul Coughlin, Phil Salt and Mitchell Stanley all unavailable.
"I've complained over the last few years about not being able to get into a rhythm. not having time in the middle to bat, having batted lower down the order," Livingstone told BBC Radio Lancashire. "Here's my chance to have some time in the middle.
"I don't think I'd be playing if everybody was fit, to be perfectly honest. But Jimmy asked,. if I was ever going to play for anyone, Jimmy and Croft are probably my top two people… I'll have one training session on Thursday and then straight in on Friday. I can't stand here and say I'm really prepared for it, but it is what it is."
Livingstone spent the early months of the English season at the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad but only made two appearances. But he has been in impressive form since returning to Lancashire. hitting 85 not out off 31 balls to win a rain-reduced T20 Blast match at Durham on Tuesday night.
Lancashire sit fourth in Division Two after six matches and host third-placed Kent at Blackpool on Friday. Their promotion hopes took a blow last week when Green was ruled out of the rest of his stint with a fractured thumb. Ben McDermott, who is with the club for the Blast, has been named in the Championship squad for Friday's match.
Joe Moores. the 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter who has impressed in the Blast, is also in line for a first-class debut after he was included in the squad, while Anderson is back from an injury sustained in Lancashire's opening Blast match at The Oval.
Lancashire's opponents. Kent, will be without Zak Crawley this week after he opted to put his own first-class career on pause following a quiet start to the summer, which contributed to him losing his place in England's Test squad.
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