Liam Livingstone backs England’s ‘untapped talent’ to shine in Caribbean

Liam Livingstone has challenged an inexperienced England white-ball squad brimming with “untapped talent” to make a name for themselves in the Caribbean.

Captain Jos Buttler’s nagging calf problem and the Test duties of a host of star names means England can test their bench strength in three ODIs against West Indies, starting in Antigua on Thursday.

Jordan Cox, named as England’s next Test wicketkeeper, plus batting all-rounder Dan Mousley and fast bowler John Turner are poised for debuts, while Livingstone would not rule out a first international appearance for promising young leg-spinner Jafer Chohan at some point.

All-rounder Jacob Bethell showed glimpses of his talent against Australia recently and has been a surprise call-up to the Test side, with Livingstone urging 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 will captain England for the first time in Buttler’s absence.

“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.”

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.

He intends to rely on wicketkeeper Phil Salt and all-rounder Sam Curran for advice in the field after being appointed to oversee the side, just two months on from being initially dropped to face Australia.

The 31-year-old barged his way back in with some brutish T20 form coupled with an injury setback for Buttler and capitalised with a couple of swaggering innings, including the fastest ODI fifty at Lord’s.

“I’m at an age now where I’m not really too emotional about things, I can accept things, I’ve had it all growing up,” said Livingstone.

“But one thing I really pride myself on is resilience and I think the resilience I showed in the summer is something I’ll look back on as being really proud of when I finish my career.

“I could have quite easily sulked, not done anything about it and ended up not here. I was happy with the way I played and hopefully I can push on from that throughout the winter.

“(Batting up the order) gives you more responsibility, a bit more time. It’s something I’ve wanted for a while. Like the young boys, I’ll be getting an opportunity to showcase what I can do this week.”

Livingstone, who received a ‘good luck’ text from Buttler on Wednesday morning, has captained in domestic cricket and will be cheered on by his father and brother.

“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,” added Livingstone.

“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.”