Sir Alastair Cook has hailed Liam Livingstone’s “coming-of-age” knock after England’s stand-in captain hit his maiden ODI century against West Indies to level the series and set up a decider.
Livingstone, who was dropped for September’s one-day internationals against Australia before starring in the T20 fixtures, has since been appointed stand-in skipper following Jos Buttler’s calf injury – and led his team to victory on Saturday with an unbeaten 124 off 85 balls.
Having fallen to an eight-wicket (DLS Method) defeat to the hosts in the opener at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday – Livingstone top scoring with 48 – the tourists were criticised for not being able to convert their good starts.
However, their five-wicket victory on Saturday showed they had learnt their lessons, with former captain Cook praising Livingstone’s resilience.
“Fair play to him (Livingstone). He was under a bit of scrutiny and pressure after Thursday’s game,” Cook told TNT Sports.
“It was a coming-of-age knock. It was absolutely brilliant; 46 off 57 balls – that’s so unlike what we’ve usually seen of Livingstone.
“He went up and down the gears and to have the hunger to be there at the end was brilliant. The last 78 runs came off 28 balls. That is some freakish power.
“If you had guys who are not in this team, like (Harry) Brook, (Joe) Root, (Ben) Duckett, and have Livingstone as a finisher at No 5, then that’s a dangerous 50-over top-order.
“He’s had the opportunity to lead your country and that’s a huge honour. He will go to bed satisfied. It’s only after he got dropped that he started batting at No 5.
“There’s not many places you can hide the ball to him. Not many players have the ability to hit three sixes. He’s not premediating, he’s reacting with great skill and clarity to hit the ball so clearly.”
Cook was also full of praise for the character shown by Livingstone’s team-mates to bounce back from their heavy defeat to keep the series alive.
“They were poor on Thursday but today everyone had match-toughness. (Phil) Salt played well and the pitch suited him with the ball coming on to him. He likes that.
“I was impressed by (Jacob) Bethell’s maturity He got into the tempo really well. These guys have been built on T20 cricket and The Hundred. In 50-over cricket you have so much more time to soak up pressure.”
On the balance of England’s bowling attack, Cook added: “They look better with three seamers.
“I don’t think you need to use nine bowlers but (Michael) Pepper could come in. However, I don’t think anyone deserves to be left out after that performance.
“I think England will go for the same side (for the final ODI).”
After his knock, Livingstone said England wanted to take risks and reinforced his side’s attacking mentality.
“There’s certain things I’ve done in practice at the end of the summer in England where I felt like I was getting back to my best,” Livingstone told TNT Sports.
“Just maturing a little bit and knowing my game pretty well and back enjoying cricket. Ultimately, that’s the main thing, I play well when I’m enjoying it.
“We wanted to take risks early on. I tried to get myself going and then set it up for the end and target their death bowling. It worked perfectly in the end.
“(Sam) Curran played beautifully. I’ve batted a lot with him so I knew I could trust him. We needed someone to get a big score and that’s what we did today.
“I think we were great with the ball too. Overall, a pretty decent team performance and we’re back in the series.”
West Indies vs England schedule (all times UK and Ireland)
- First ODI: Antigua – West Indies win by eight wickets (DLS)
- Second ODI: Antigua – England win by five wickets
- Third ODI: Barbados – Wednesday November 6 (6pm)
- First T20: Barbados – Saturday November 9 (8pm)
- Second T20: Barbados – Sunday November 10 (8pm)
- Third T20: St Lucia – Thursday November 14 (8pm)
- Fourth T20: St Lucia – Saturday November 16 (8pm)
- Fifth T20: St Lucia – Sunday November 17 (8pm)
Follow England’s white-ball tour of West Indies across Sky Sports‘ digital platforms with live blogs and reports. The third and final one-day international is in Barbados on Wednesday, November 6 (6pm start UK and Ireland).
