Liam Livingstone prioritises his strike-rate and volume of sixes over time-honoured indicators of success such as averages and milestones.
The England all-rounder’s swashbuckling 103 against Pakistan in July 2021 remains the only time he has passed 50 in 36 T20s although he frequently has to hit the ground running in the middle-order.
An average of 22.29 might seem underwhelming but Livingstone’s focus on strike-rates – his is 147.79 which is the highest of any England batter with at least 20 innings – represents the changing attitudes to batting in T20 cricket.
A cameo 30 off 18 balls kept England on course to chase down 223 against the West Indies on Saturday, underpinned by Phil Salt’s unbeaten century, and Livingstone will continue to bat with a bullish tempo.
“I couldn’t tell you how many fifties or hundreds I score any more,” Livingstone said. “It’s all about how many games that you can impact and winning games for your team. I’d much rather get 30 off 18 balls than 50 off 40 balls.
“Your strike-rate is something that you pride yourself on. In previous walks of life you’d probably have a bigger eye on your average. Nowadays I’m all about sixes per game and my strike-rate.
“Milestones are actually pretty meaningless in T20 cricket, it’s all about how you can affect the game and how you can win games.
“It was unbelievable for Salty to get a hundred but I think he’ll be much more pleased he’s seen an England team over the line by hitting sixes than getting a hundred for England.”
After averaging 10 in England’s doomed defence of their World Cup crown, Livingstone has passed double figures in all three T20s against the Windies but his innings in Grenada on Saturday was his highest.
Ahead of the penultimate match in Trinidad on Tuesday, Livingstone wants to have more of a decisive influence on proceedings as England bid to overturn a 2-1 series deficit in a region which is co-hosting next year’s T20 World Cup.
“Hopefully I’m back on an upward curve with my batting which has probably been on a downward curve for the last couple of months,” he said.
“I’ve felt really good in this series, really clear and like I’m heading in the right direction. With two games left hopefully one of them I can go on, get a big score and win a game for England.
“The best thing for us is it feels like from the start of the series to where we are now, we feel like we’re learning. I feel like we’ve taken a big step forward and ultimately that’s what we want to do.
“Obviously we want to win this series but there’s a World Cup coming up. There’s a lot of focus on that and hopefully these next two games can give us a lot of confidence.”
Livingstone will represent Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League next year after being retained by the franchise but several of his team-mates are up for grabs in Wednesday’s auction in Dubai.
The eight-hour time difference between the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean means the England players on this tour who have entered the auction – such as Harry Brook and Adil Rashid – could be fast asleep when their names go under the hammer.
“I guess Brooky, being a Yorkshireman, he’s pretty tight, he’ll probably be right up at 4am hoping that he gets a few quid,” Livingstone said with a chuckle.
“But some of the boys will get picked up and I’m sure there’ll be a laugh on the way to the game.”
IPL: Du Plessis shines as RCB revival continues against Titans
A rapid 64 from captain Faf du Plessis helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a third consecutive Indian Premier League win as they again saw off Gujarat Titans.
RCB comfortably defeated the Titans in an away game six days ago and then comprehensively saw off Shubman Gill’s side once more on Saturday, this time at home.
After the Titans were bowled out for 147, RCB raced to a four-wicket victory with 38 balls to spare to move off the bottom of the IPL table, jumping up to seventh after overcoming a brief scare towards the end of their chase.
Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak took two wickets apiece as the Titans struggled batting first, falling to 19-3 midway through the sixth over. They needed Shahrukh Khan (37), Rahul Tewatia (35) and David Miller (30) to post some kind of total, with Tewatia passing 1,000 career IPL runs.
Any faint hopes of halting RCB’s run of form were ended when Du Plessis fired 64 from just 23 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, ably supported by opening partner Virat Kohli (42).
A brief spell of chaos saw RCB fall from 92-0 to 117-6 with Josh Little taking 4-45, but Dinesh Karthik (21 not out) and Swapnil Singh (15no) steadied the ship and finished off the chase.
Data Debrief: Kohli regains Orange Cap
While Du Plessis top scored in this game, another good knock from Kohli, who hit four maximums, saw the India great regain possession of the Orange Cap. With 542 runs in IPL 2024, Kohli has a narrow lead over CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (509).
Kohli is averaging 67.75 and striking at 148.08, with four fifties and a century to his name from just 11 innings in a memorable campaign.
He has helped RCB recover from being beaten in seven of their first eight games, while the Titans, finalists in each of the last two editions, have now lost four of their last five.
Windies A end Nepal tour with six wicket defeat; top five-match series 3-2
West Indies A concluded their tour of South Asia on a losing note, as they were handed a six-wicket beating by Nepal in the final encounter of a five-match T20 series at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur, on Saturday.
Despite the loss, the Caribbean side topped the series 3-2, but had very little to celebrate, as they failed to really put together a dominant collective display. Instead, the series win was lined with individual performances, namely from captain Roston Chase, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Alick Athanaze, as well as stellar efforts from Gudakesh Motie and Obed McCoy with the ball.
It was more of the same in the curtain call contest, where Athanaze’s unbeaten 29-ball 42 and Chase’s 33 off 23 balls, were the highlight of the West Indies A innings, which ended at 172-7, after they opted to take first strike.
Sagar Dhakal (3-17) and Sompal Kami (3-16) did the damage for Nepal with the ball.
In reply, Nepal, courtesy of half-centuries from Aasif Sheikh (51) and Anil Sah (58), easily got to their target with seven balls to spare.
McCoy led West Indies A bowlers with 3-36.
Scores: West Indies A 172-7 (20 overs); Nepal 173-4 (18.5 overs)
After losing opener Kushal Bhurtel (13) to McCoy in the second over, Nepal had very little trouble fending off West Indies A’s bowling attack, as Sheikh and Sah put together a 96-run second wicket stand, which laid the platform for the victory.
Wicketkeeper Sheikh smashed two fours and five sixes in his 35-ball knock, while Sah had four fours and four sixes in his 58 off 45 balls.
Even when that partnership was eventually broken by McCoy, who removed Sheikh in the 14th over, the host remained in firm control, and the win was inevitably wrapped up by Kushal Malla, who struck three fours and three sixes in a brisk unbeaten 18-ball 37.
Earlier, West Indies A lost their top order in the eighth over with just 60 runs on the board, as Johnson Charles (24), Kadeem Alleyne (11) and Mark Deyal (11), all failed to repel the attack of Dhakal’s slow left-arm orthodox spin.
Chase, who struck five boundaries in his 23-ball 33, and Athanaze, who had one four and three maximums, tried to repair the damage with a 40-run fourth wicket stand, before the former fell in the 14th over.
Matthew Forde, with a 12-ball cameo of 23, including three sixes, added some impetus to the innings, but when he fell to Kami, West Indies A lucked out, as the right had medium fast bowler also removed Fabian Allen (three) and Motie (one) in quick succession.
Athanaze and Hayden Walsh (seven) were left not out.
Pep Guardiola backs England for Euro 2024 success
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes it is only a matter of time before England get over the line at a major international tournament and gives them every chance of triumphing at Euro 2024.
England are among the favourites to win this summer's Euros in Germany along with the host nation, France, Spain and Portugal.
The Three Lions were runners-up at Euro 2020 after losing in heart-breaking fashion on penalties to Italy in the final at Wembley.
They have also come close in the last two World Cup tournaments, making the semi-finals in 2018 and the last eight in 2022.
Guardiola, who has England stars like Phil Foden, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish in his Man City squad, drew comparisons his side knocking on the door in the Champions League for many years before their eventual continental success in 2023.
He would also have closely watched many of his former Barcelona players play a key role in the Spain team at Euro 2008, which would prove to be the first of three straight major tournament successes after many years of near misses for La Roja before that.
With Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham among England's options for the tournament, Guardiola likes what he sees.
"The national team? Really good. But it's not just the talent of the strikers, it's the whole package, the whole group. Gareth [Southgate] knows perfectly what he has to do," Guardiola told reporters.
"I have the feeling, everyone has the feeling, that the England national team, in the last events, the World Cup and European Championships, they made steps.
"They are on the verge, they are really close. They lost a final and got to a semi-final.
"When you arrive at these stages every two years, it's going to happen.
"It's quite similar to us – we were close and, in the end, we lifted it. Just believe it. If they believe it they can do it, believe it and they can do it."
The Euros begin on June 14 and England will be expected to top a group that also contains Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia.
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