Liam Livingstone signs T20-only contract with Lancashire

Liam Livingstone has signed a new, three-year deal with Lancashire for the T20 Blast which effectively brings his first-class career to a close.

Livingstone has spent the last three years on an ECB central contract, but his deal expired in October and he has not been picked for England in any format since the Champions Trophy in March. As a result, Lancashire will resume paying his salary, and he has now signed a contract with the club that runs until the end of the 2028 season.

While Livingstone has not publicly retired from first-class cricket, his contract is specifically for the T20 Blast and he appears highly unlikely to feature in the County Championship this summer - not least because he will spend the first two months of the English season playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL.

Livingstone was a promising red-ball player early in his career, and scored twin first-class hundreds for England Lions against Sri Lanka A in the 2016-17 winter. He was also a prolific run-scorer in the Championship for Lancashire, and was an unused squad member on a tour to New Zealand in 2017-18.

But his rapid improvement as a white-ball player after the Covid-19 pandemic meant selection for the IPL, and England teams, severely limited his red-ball availability. He won his first and only Test cap as a wildcard allrounder picked by Brendon McCullum on England's tour to Pakistan in late 2022, but sustained a knee injury while fielding and has not played a first-class match since.

Livingstone played a key role in helping Lancashire reach T20 Blast Finals Day last year, but they were beaten by Somerset in the semi-finals in the absence of several England players.

"It was pretty easy. I wasn't going to go anywhere else," Livingstone told LancsTV about his contract negotiations. He added: "I'm obviously very happy. I've loved my time playing here. I've obviously been here for a number of years now. This was my club growing up, so it's nice to commit another three years.

"I'm looking forward to what we've got to come. It feels like we're building some nice momentum in T20 cricket. We've just fallen at the final hurdle a couple of times over the last few years, so hopefully with a bit more luck and a bit more composure under pressure, we can go a bit further and look to win the trophy.

"It's probably my favourite part of the year, to be honest, coming back and not only playing in front of friends and family, but I love playing here. Lancashire is my club. I've been here for a number of years. This is the one place, throughout the year, that feels like home. It's probably, over the last few years, been my most enjoyable cricket as well."

Livingstone also recently signed for London Spirit as one of four men's pre-signings ahead of next month's Hundred auction, having spent the last five seasons playing for Birmingham Phoenix.