Livingstone slams England cricket regime - 'No-one cares about you'

Liam Livingstone has launched an extraordinary attack on the England set-up, accusing the hierarchy of abandoning him after his axing 12 months ago and declaring that “no-one cares about you” once you fall out of favour.

The 32-year-old all-rounder, who has 100 England caps across formats, told ESPN Cricinfo that a 60-second phone call from head coach Brendon McCullum last May was the sum total of his communication with the national side since his dropping.

“I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz,” Livingstone recalled. “Brooky (captain Harry Brook) sent me a text. Keysy [director of cricket Rob 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, whose last appearance for England came in the 2024 Champions Trophy, branded that tournament “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket” and claimed his attempts to seek guidance were met only with the suggestion that he “cares too much”.

The Lancashire batter insists the episode crystallised his belief that the current regime operates a closed shop. “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.”

Despite his exile, Livingstone remains a white-ball hot property: Sunrisers Hyderabad secured his services for £1 million in the recent IPL auction, while London Spirit stumped up £350,000 for the upcoming Hundred. “I still believe I’m one of the best players in white-ball cricket in England,” he stated. “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.”

Asked whether he felt any pangs of envy watching England surge to the T20 World Cup semi-finals earlier this month, Livingstone was blunt: “There wasn’t any part of me that was wishing I was playing in that team, to be honest.”

The ECB, whose ongoing Ashes review is examining “tour planning and preparation, individual performance and behaviours” after the 4-1 defeat in Australia, maintains that Livingstone’s international career is not finished. Sources told Sky Sports News that selectors will continue to monitor his performances and that the player may have misinterpreted Key’s comments.

Key himself addressed Livingstone’s claim of radio silence on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast last summer, joking: “I don’t know if he’s got a phone, if he’s allowed to ring—he’s 32 years of age. If you want to find out where you are, you’ve got my number, mate.”

For now, Livingstone appears content to let his franchise feats do the talking, unconvinced that an England recall will ever materialise under the current leadership.