England Still Comes First: Liam Livingstone

He is an acclaimed T20 freelancer but white ball commitments for England is still a priority for Liam Livingstone, one of the world's most destructive batters in the shortest format. Livingstone, who has played 25 ODIs and 38 T20Is for England, has already plied his trade in IPL (Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings), Birmingham Phonenix in The Hundred, Perth Scorchers in Big Bash League (BBL) of Australia and Peshawar Zalmi in Pakistan Super League (PSL) to name a few.

In the second edition of SA20, Livingstone will play for MI Cape Town and he, along with Kagiso Rabada and skipper Kieron Pollard, will be the guiding light for the franchise.

How does he balance his calendar in terms of playing for franchise leagues and English white ball commitments? "Yeah, I think England comes first. We see our calendar at the start of the year and see where we have gaps. If we feel like it's a good opportunity for us to go away and play franchise cricket, then we'll do that," Livingstone replied to a query from PTI.

"If we feel like we need a rest and it's going to hinder our international cricket, then we'll probably have a rest. So I guess at the start of the year, you just try and work out when you can play and where you can go and go from there," he added.

Livingstone believes that a league like SA20 will help youngsters stake claim for national berth in their respective countries.

"Yeah, international cricket is very different from franchise cricket. It is what it is. I think it's different for the young boys coming up compared to the older boys who are already playing international cricket. It's a great chance for young boys to make a name for themselves and showcase their talent.

"I think it's a little bit different for the older ones of us, shall I say that? We've already played international cricket for a while now," the 30-year-old said.

Playing for a legacy franchise like MI, what's his expectations? "Hopefully, lots of entertainment, win games of cricket. I guess that probably will be the two biggest things in a franchise tournament. You want to entertain people that pay money to come and watch and you want to win games of cricket for your franchise.

"So yeah, hopefully we can do both. You've got to try and get everybody together, everybody on the same wavelength. Hopefully, we can do that over the next couple of days and start the season really strong," Livingstone concluded. 

source https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/england-still-comes-first-liam-livingstone-4825438