Liam Livingstone is not even a particularly well-known name in England, let alone on the global stage. However, Karachi Kings’ newest gun has been firing away from the spotlight for a very long time.
The Lancashire batsman first made headlines in club cricket – playing for a team in the north west of England called Nantwich CC – by smashing a scarcely believable 350 from 138 balls in 2015. Then 21, he had not even made his county debut.
The display included 34 fours and 27 sixes and, while it was not quite a world-record knock, the 579-7 that Nantwich compiled after the regulation 45 overs must have broken an assortment of them. Opposition side Caldy finished a mere 500 runs short.
COUNTY CAREER
Unsurprisingly, Livingstone got his shot a mere month later and became an integral part of a Lancashire Lightning side that went all the way in England’s domestic T20 Blast competition. It was not all smooth sailing – he required stitches after being involved in an altercation off the pitch and suffered a first-ball duck at the hands of Shahid Afridi in the final.
However, during the following season he began to establish himself as an all-weather Lancashire player rather than just a T20 tornado. He topped the first-class batting averages for the county in 2016, including a maiden Championship hundred in Taunton, and followed it up with the England Lions in Sri Lanka that winter.
He compiled two hundreds in the subcontinent – one in each innings against Sri Lanka A, the only batsman alongside Kevin Pietersen to do so in 35 years for an England B side. It only served further notice to the England selectors that he is a multi-format player of the future.
ENGLAND PROSPECTS
England elected to look at him up close during South Africa’s tour of England in 2017. He participated in two T20s and, while he did not make a score of note, went on to score a first-class double hundred against Warwickshire to suggest his trajectory remained on the up.
What goes up must, eventually, come down. His Test dreams looked like they would be fulfilled after being called up for England’s tour of New Zealand, but he went home without a cap and into some strife with Lancashire.
A thumb injury curtailed a disappointing season that saw his personal form suffer (no half-centuries in 10 Championship games) and Lancashire relegated from Division One on his watch, having been appointed captain.
A wicked T20 century against Derbyshire, reaching the ton from 49 balls, was perhaps the only real positive from a season in which he really suffered with that niggling thumb.
KARACHI KINGS
Who do Karachi Kings have to thank for taking a chance on Livingstone? None other than Wasim Akram.
As well as being a Pakistan legend, Akram is a hero in Lancashire too after a stellar county career with the club for much of the 1990s. Those connections will have prompted Kings president Akram to have taken a punt on Livingstone during the supplementary PSL draft late last year.
It has immediately paid off. Livingstone even outshone one of international cricket’s top T20 batsman, Babar Azam, in racing to his 82 off just 43 balls in the seven-run victory over Multan Sultans in Dubai on Friday night. His stand of 157 alongside Azam is the biggest-ever in the PSL.
Liam Livingstone had a #HBLPSL debut to remember with a thunderous 43-ball 82 that earned him an eye popping 180 fantasy points and made him the #DotballPerformerOfTheDay #KKvMS pic.twitter.com/Lf5GIJmBGb
— Dotball (@dotballglobal) February 16, 2019
The 25-year-old can’t wait to show what he can do in Pakistan, too.
“I do feel that it’s very exciting for the PSL to be going back to Pakistan and yes, I would jump at the opportunity to get out to Pakistan and play in the stadiums in a country where cricket is like a religion,” he was quoted as saying by The Asian Post ahead of the tournament.
Don’t be surprised if he tries his hand at bowling during the tournament – he is a more than handy leg spinner and took 3-24 in a victory over Pakistan A for England Lions last December.
FUTURE
Karachi are not the only sub-continent team to have been alerted to his talents. The IPL’s Rajasthan Royals have a distinctly English feel to their side, and the 2008 champions couldn’t resist recruiting another Englishman to their ranks after shelling out £55,000 for Livingstone back in December.
England regulars Chris Woakes, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan went unsold during the auction but Rajasthan have gone for potential over names to place him alongside countrymen Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, with the tournament fast approaching on March 29.
Rajasthan will certainly feel justified in their selection given Livingstone’s fast start to life in the PSL.
