NEWS
Follow UsEngland’s latest white-ball sensation Liam Livingstone might be in doubt for their opening fixture of the T20 World Cup against West Indies on Saturday after sustaining a finger injury during their first warm-up game against India in Dubai. The 28-year-old injured his left-hand’s little finger while dropping a catch at deep mid-wicket. The injury will be assessed once the swelling goes down.
"I think he's alright. I think it's just bruising on the back of the hand but I think he'll be fine. Obviously it was a bit of a scare at the time but he said it was fine, so hopefully he's all good. He's a brilliant player - he's been playing really well over the last couple of years. Hopefully he can carry that form into the World Cup and I feel like it's going to be a big stage for him," said Moeen Ali after a seven-wicket defeat against India.
Livingstone earlier smashed 30 off 20 deliveries and also picked up a key wicket of Indian captain Virat Kohli to make his presence felt. Jonny Bairstow (36-ball 49) and Moeen (20-ball 43*) too made handy contributions and propelled England to a competitive total of 188. However, Indian openers KL Rahul (24-ball 51) and Ishan Kishan (46-ball 70 retd hurt) ensured India had little trouble hunting down the target.
Moeen himself has been in superb form of late, especially with the bat. The left-hander played a massive role in Chennai Super Kings’ fourth title win and even contributed in the grand finale against Kolkata Knight Riders. Moeen mostly batted at No. 3 or 4 for the franchise and hit 357 runs at a strike rate 137.30. The 34-year-old said he enjoyed batting up the order for Chennai but knows that won’t be the case with England because of their formidable top-order.
"I absolutely loved it. Obviously when you win a competition like the IPL it's amazing and with the role I was given, I felt like I was quite important to the team. I'm just grateful that I played and did pretty well for them. As a team I thought we were great - we had great fun. I felt like I learned a lot with the experienced players that we had.
"The reality (is that) there are so many good players, if you look at the team we (England) have and the batters that we have - it's quite scary, actually. My role could change but the good thing is I feel like I could play any type of role. If a chance does come, I can bat No. 6 or 7 or I can bat up the order, so I'm just trying to get myself ready and be in a good frame of mind. Whatever role I'm given, I'm hopefully going to do well in."
