With the explosive batters crucial to their prospects of winning the T20 World Cup, England is prepared to wrap big-hitting Liam Livingstone in cotton wool to nurture his injured ankle through the tournament. Under the
Liam Livingstone’s prospects of being fit for the World Cup have not exactly improved as a result of England’s crazy schedule, but he is prepared to bandage himself up and play against Afghanistan.
During the first leg of this tour, England took a flight from Perth to Canberra, then on to Brisbane, and is now taking a six-hour flight back to Perth for Saturday’s first game.
And each time he boarded an aircraft, Livingstone had to take extra precautions to preserve his injured left ankle.
After making a strong comeback in the last exhibition game against Pakistan, Livingstone conceded that “flying hasn’t made it the easiest.” When I fly, I have to compress it.
It just entails the physiotherapists wrapping it with bandages to prevent swelling. My range of motion is restricted by the swelling, which makes practicing somewhat more unpleasant.
Therefore, I’ll workout pretty much every morning and ice all afternoon. Although it has been difficult, England has a World Cup to compete for, so all the dull days have been worthwhile.
Now all that is still to be seen is if England, who are considering their first pick despite having a near-embarrassment of riches, would take a chance on such a crucial player even though he confesses he is still only “90%” fit.
On Monday, during a meaningless final practice game at the Gabba, Livingstone tripped on the ankle he injured in bizarre circumstances while scoring 28 off 16 balls, including one of the greatest sixes even he has hit.
However, Livingstone, the inventor of the quickest T20 hundred in English history, viewed his fall as a positive development (cricket online betting).
It felt good afterward, which gives me a little more confidence, so it was really nice to slide, he added.
Considering I had a 12-week injury and we are just at the end of week seven, I am pleased with where I am at, especially since there are still a few days until the first game. I thus didn’t really want to play this game aggressively.
I simply wanted to return to cricket and finish my bowling, which has been my major concern. I’ve been hitting well pretty much since I got back. I’ve worked hard to reach where I am, and it feels wonderful, so I’ll keep moving forward.
England has undoubtedly seen its fair share of bizarre injuries. Reece Topley finished his World Cup after stepping on the foam “Toblerone” boundary marker during practice and twisted his ankle. Jonny Bairstow shattered his leg while playing golf.
Livingstone’s injury, which he sustained in August while competing for Birmingham in the Hundred, was similarly regrettable. When I was going to have breakfast in the morning, I literally tumbled over a curb. he said. ‘I took a wrong step and fell down.’
Even if England does not gamble on him on Saturday, at least his prognosis is good. Sam Curran might be used as an additional all-rounder at position seven while Harry Brook would continue to play at position five.
However, they could be persuaded to do so after witnessing Livingstone hit one of his sixes that cleared the Gabba roof on Monday.
The blow rivaled his massive hit over the new rugby stand roof at Headingley, also against Pakistan, last year. He is considered as one of the greatest hitters in the game.
Brooky really made fun of me while we were batting, telling me, “This is a stadium you haven’t cleared,” according to Livingstone. It was wonderful to get a few out of the middle to get going because, as the saying goes, “If ever there was a wicket to do it on, this was it.”
But was it more significant than the Leeds smash hit? Sadly, there were no measuring tools available at the Gabba to make a comparison. I’m not really sure, he said. “Let’s pretend it was, just so I can brag about it to the fellas,” he said
