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Due to a knee injury, Liam Livingstone has disclosed that he has been playing despite agony for the past eighteen months. He was “in a pretty crap place” and the game “drained” of his enthusiasm, but an anti-inflammatory shot helped him play “pain-free” in England’s Twenty20 International series against Pakistan.
Livingstone was at the non-striker’s end when Ben Stokes struck the winning runs in the final of the T20 World Cup in 2022, having recovered quickly from an ankle injury. Shortly after, on his Test debut in Pakistan, he suffered a right knee injury while fielding, and he has struggled with form and fitness ever since.
At the 50-over World Cup in India, he amassed 60 runs in six innings. At the beginning of this year, he averaged 15.75 over eighteen franchise T20 innings, with a best score of 38 not out. After getting his knee “sorted” out during the IPL, he left early to come home with the hopes that getting the issue fixed permanently.
“It’s not been the most enjoyable 18 months of trying to play with a niggle,” he said after England’s seven-wicket win at The Oval on Thursday. “It kind of drains your spirit, drains your enjoyment of cricket. I was in a pretty crap place at the end of the IPL… thankfully, the injection seems to have worked and just being able to play cricket pain-free for the first time in two years is the exciting part for me. I feel like I’ve got a smile on my face again, and I’m enjoying playing cricket.”
Livingstone explained that he had “something underneath my kneecap that keeps catching” on the bone, but that the injection went “really well” and has relieved the pain. He said: “This series, I came in a lot happier, enjoying my cricket a little bit more – and being able to move my feet when I bat also really helps. I feel like I’ve got a smile on my face, and that’s all that really matters to me.”
England left for Barbados on Friday morning ahead of their opening group-stage match against Scotland next Tuesday. “We feel like we’ve got all bases covered,” Livingstone said. “The group’s in a very good place. I think we’re in a much better place than what we were six months ago, which is pretty exciting for all of us… the boys are really looking forward to getting going.”