Liam Livingstone

On arrival in Perth for the 2019-20 winter, Liam Livingstone set himself two targets: to get into England's side for the next T20 World Cup, and to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. Two-and-a-half years later, he had achieved both. Livingstone announced himself as an international cricketer in 2021, when he was recalled to England's white-ball sides and immediately looked at home. He blitzed the fastest-ever T20I hundred by an Englishman, off 42 balls against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, then cleared the new stand at Headingley and embarked on a six-hitting rampage in the Hundred.

It was enough to force his way into their T20 World Cup plans, though he was limited to 29 balls at the tournament itself due to his status as England's designated finisher. He was hot property on the franchise circuit: he sold for INR 11.5 crore (£1.1 million) to Punjab Kings in early 2022, and was among the inaugural signing for Mumbai Indians' South African affiliate, MI Cape Town. After rushing back from injury in 2022, he was at the non-striker's end when Ben Stokes hit the winning runs in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan. He made an unexpected Test debut a few weeks later against the same opposition, though another injury limited his involvement.

Livingstone has long been a compelling package as an all-round cricketer. He is a batter first and foremost, with raw power and a rare ability to dominate bowling attacks, but is also a good outfielder and can bowl both offbreaks and legbreaks to a decent standard. He made his international debut in 2017, making two T20 appearances against South Africa after a successful Lions tour to Sri Lanka earlier in the year saw him billed "the belligerent face of England's new generation", but England decided he needed to craft his game at county level. That did not go well in a forgettable 2018 summer: prematurely appointed captain, he failed to reach fifty in 10 Championship matches as Lancashire were relegated.

Livingstone, a hard-hitting batter from Barrow in Cumbria, won a trophy in his first season in Lancashire colours when they triumphed at Edgbaston on Finals Day in the 2015 NatWest Blast. His satisfaction did not come without mishap, however, after he was glassed (and deemed an innocent party) in a late-night incident in an Ashford bar after the quarter-final win against Kent and needed around 20 stitches. A first-ball duck, bowled by Northants' Shahid Afridi, added to his misery in the final, but Lancashire were hopeful that, at the very least, they had a big hitter on their hands.

He had first attracted media attention as the season began by striking 350 in 138 balls for his club side Nantwich in a mismatch which saw them beat Caldy by 500 runs. It was held to be one of the largest individual scores in any officially-sanctioned limited-overs fixture.
ESPNcricinfo staff