Liam Livingstone will pull on Lancashire whites this week, ending a near four-year absence from first-class cricket after what he describes as an “SOS” from captain James Anderson and head coach Steven Croft.
Lancashire’s injury list is long – Chris Green, Luke Wells, Arav Shetty, Ajeet Singh Dale, Paul Coughlin, Phil Salt and Mitchell Stanley are all sidelined – and with two County Championship fixtures in quick succession, senior cover has become urgent. Livingstone, who signed a T20-only deal with the county in February, has agreed to play against Kent at Blackpool on Friday and, fitness permitting, Derbyshire the week after.
The 30-year-old’s last red-ball appearance came on England’s 2022 tour of Pakistan, a trip cut short by a knee problem suffered while fielding in Rawalpindi. Since then he has become one of the game’s most itinerant white-ball specialists, moving between the IPL, Blast and various global leagues, and rarely facing a red ball in anger.
Yet the pull of home – and a request from two trusted figures – proved persuasive. “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.”
He added, “I don’t think I’d be playing if everybody was fit, to be perfectly honest. But Jimmy asked, and 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 arrives in decent nick despite limited recent cricket. His IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad amounted to only two outings, but on Tuesday evening he cracked 85 not out from 31 balls to drag Lancashire to a rain-reduced Blast victory at Durham. The innings reminded observers of his hitting range and suggested reflexes are intact, even if Championship batting demands rather different skills.
Lancashire sit fourth in Division Two after six matches, 13 points behind third-placed Kent. Promotion remains the aim, though Green’s fractured thumb has dented that push. The coaching staff have responded by calling up Ben McDermott – in Manchester primarily for the T20s – and naming 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Joe Moores in their Championship squad. Anderson, out since tweaking a calf in the opening Blast fixture at The Oval, is expected to share the new ball.
Kent have selection complications of their own. Zak Crawley has chosen to pause red-ball cricket following lean early-season form that cost him his England place. The visitors therefore travel north short of international experience and will lean on Daniel Bell-Drummond and captain Jack Leaning for top-order stability.
How Livingstone adapts will shape Lancashire’s immediate prospects. He has batted as low as seven in Tests and finished matches at three in the Blast; somewhere in between seems likely at Blackpool. The ground is compact and often high-scoring, though early June in coastal Lancashire can test a player’s technique as much as his temperament.
Whether this is a brief cameo or a genuine re-engagement with red-ball cricket remains to be seen. For now, Livingstone is keen simply to enjoy the return. After months of coloured clothing and short-form hustling, two long days in the field and a red ball swinging under grey skies might even feel refreshing – at least until Friday morning when Anderson throws him the ball and says, “Fancy a bowl?”
