Lancashire 'express disappointment' over Livingstone Blast semi-final dismissal

Lancashire have "formally expressed" their disappointment to the ECB over Liam Livingstone's dismissal on Blast Finals Day at the weekend.

Livingstone was given out lbw in Lancashire's run chase during the first semi-final, against Somerset. He immediately reviewed, seemingly convinced of an inside edge; but the third umpire umpire, Sue Redfern, decided on the evidence of UltraEdge that there was no bat involved before the ball hit the back leg.

Lancashire were 102 for 3 at the time, needing another 81 from 49 balls, but saw their challenge evaporate after Livingstone's departure as the last seven wickets went down for 57 runs.

In a statement posted on X, Lancashire said: "Following on from Finals Day, @lancscricket has formally expressed its disappointment to the ECB regarding the decision that led to the dismissal of Liam Livingstone. The Lancashire allrounder was given out lbw for 29, following a review by the TV umpire.

"While the club remains deeply frustrated and disappointed with the decision, @lancscricket is equally clear that it does not condone the misogynistic comments that have appeared across social media in response. Such behaviour is unacceptable, does not reflect the values of our club or the wider Red Rose family, and has no place in the game."

Lancashire had already expressed their frustrations ahead of Finals Day, as they were forced to contest the semi-final without the services of six first-choice players. Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood were all unavailable while on England duty, while Chris Green had departed for the CPL and Ashton Turner was recalled by Western Australia.

Keaton Jennings called the scheduling "ludicrous", with Lancashire giving a T20 debut to spinner Arav Shetty against Somerset, while allrounder George Balderson was also playing his first game of the season.