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Liam Livingstone will savour a proud moment for his family and hometown of Barrow-in-Furness when he leads England in the series-opening ODI against the West Indies on Thursday.
Captain Jos Buttler’s nagging calf problem which has sidelined him since the end of England’s T20 World Cup in late June means Livingstone will lead an inexperienced group in three ODIs in the Caribbean.
The Cumbrian captained Lancashire in 2018 but resigned after one season when they were relegated in the County Championship although he led the Red Rose to the Vitality Blast quarter-finals last year.
His father and brother will be in attendance when he skippers England for the first time in Antigua, just two months on from being initially dropped from the ODI squad to take on Australia amid dwindling returns, only to barge his way back in following some stellar T20 form and Buttler’s injury setback.
“I take it back to when I was six, seven, eight years old playing in the garden, you’d always pretend you were England captain, so it’s another dream that’s come true for me,” Livingstone said.
“There’s probably not many England captains that come from Barrow-in-Furness so it’s a proud moment for my family and the town where I come from.
“I did a year of captaincy when I was 24 and I think not only for this but for my whole career, it set me up really nicely. It didn’t go all to plan but that’s the thing that matures you pretty quickly.
“Hopefully that year of captaincy will stand me in good stead for the next week.”
Hopefully there will be someone within this group where people say: ‘Remember that series we had in the West Indies when so-and-so made a name for themselves?’
Liam Livingstone
Livingstone would not be drawn on his XI for the series opener but suggested he will bat at five in the order, a promotion for him as 25 of his 27 ODI innings to date have been at number six or seven.
Jordan Cox, named as England’s next Test wicketkeeper, plus batting all-rounder Dan Mousley and fast bowler John Turner are poised for debuts in a 16-strong squad where six members are uncapped in ODIs.
Promising leg-spinner Jafer Chohan may feature at some point and Livingstone urged the youngsters to seize the moment in what is the tourists’ penultimate ODI series before next year’s Champions Trophy.
“If somebody comes in and shows something we haven’t already got, they can leapfrog people very quickly,” said Livingstone, who intends to rely on Phil Salt and Sam Curran for advice in the field.
“There’s a lot of untapped talent and we are going to see some of that. Hopefully there will be someone within this group where people say: ‘Remember that series we had in the West Indies when so-and-so made a name for themselves?’
“I have no doubt that someone or even a couple of guys will put their hand forward. The strength in depth we have in English cricket, when you look at the boys we are missing to the squad we’ve still got here is pretty exciting.
“There’s going to be a lot of debuts over the next few weeks. It’s about time we threw them in at the deep end and see what they’re all about.”
Shimron Hetmyer is likely to make his first ODI appearance in nearly 11 months for the Windies, having averaged 11.33 in six innings, with 17-year-old wicketkeeper Jewel Andrew set to make way.
