Liam Livingstone has strongly criticised how the current England setup has treated him, saying “no-one cares about you” and that he “doesn’t miss” playing for England. The 32-year-old, who holds exactly 100 caps across all three formats, has not played for his country in over a year and appears resigned to remaining out of the side.
In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Livingstone was scathing about his interactions with director of cricket Rob Key and described his time at last year’s Champions Trophy as “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket”. Sky Sports News understands the England and Wales Cricket Board do not regard his international career as over and say he will be considered if he performs strongly.
The ECB’s review into the Ashes defeat, covering tour planning, preparation, individual performance and behaviours after the 4-1 loss in Australia, is still ongoing.
Livingstone recounted a brief phone call from head coach Brendon McCullum last May to tell him he had been dropped. “I don’t think it would have reached a minute,” he said. “I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz. Brooky (captain Harry Brook) sent me a text.”
He said Key “said nothing, said I’ll speak to you in the summer. I actually rang him one day, and he said he was busy at a Test camp at Loughborough and then I didn’t hear off him until the end of September.” Livingstone added: “That probably sums that group up as a collective. That was a bit of an eye‑opening experience about the group and the regime.”
“If you’re in, you’re in, and if you’re not in, no-one cares about you,” he said. “That put my mind at ease that my cricket was going to be more enjoyable going forward. I was asking for help and pretty much all I got was that I care too much and I need to chill out a little bit.”
Sky Sports News reports the ECB feel Livingstone has misinterpreted that conversation.
On the franchise circuit Livingstone remains in demand, with a reported £1m Indian Premier League deal from Sunrisers Hyderabad and a £350,000 bid from London Spirit at the recent Hundred auction. “I still believe I’m one of the best players in white‑ball cricket in England,” he said. “Just because I’m not playing for England, because of a couple of people’s opinions, it doesn’t mean that I’m not good enough to do it.”
Regarding the recent T20 World Cup, where England reached the semi‑finals, Livingstone said: “I didn’t miss it one bit. There wasn’t any part of me that was wishing I was playing in that team, to be honest.”
Last summer Livingstone told Sky Sports News that “nobody has really reached out to me to tell me what I need to do or any reasons why.” Responding on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Rob Key joked: “I saw something (Livingstone) said the other day that he’s not heard anything since being dropped. I don’t know if he’s got a phone, if he’s allowed to ring, he’s 32 years of age – it’s not hard. If you want to find out where you are, you’ve got my number mate. He’s a fantastic cricketer and you want someone like Liam Livingstone around. He just needs to find that consistency.”