'I'm aiming for the warm-up game against Pakistan'- Liam Livingstone reveals deadline for his return to action for England

While England are engrossed in a high-voltage series against Australia, star batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone is hoping to make his comeback in the final warm-up game against Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup. Livingstone is currently recovering from an ankle injury he sustained during this year's edition of the Hundred.

Livingstone missed England's lengthy seven-match T20I series against Pakistan and although he has traveled with the English squad to Perth, he is set to return after the series's conclusion. The all-rounder revealed his excitement on nearing the end of his recovery process and is keen to make his return for the national team ahead of the ICC mega event.

"Finally, we're at the exciting part of the rehab. We're getting close and can see light at the end of the tunnel. I'm excited to be back out there and back playing. In my head, I'm aiming for the warm-up game against Pakistan but if I push it too hard, too early, you knock yourself back. We're trying to get that balance right: push it as hard as we can without aggravating it," Livingstone told the PA news agency. 

Mentally, the break's done me a world of good: Liam Livingstone

The hard-hitting all-rounder will have to fight it out for a starting berth in the playing eleven after the emergence in the Harry Brook in recent weeks. With Moeen Ali and Sam Curran also putting up their hands in the lower-middle order, the management will be in no rush to put Livingstone on the field, who is enjoying his break from cricket.

"I've seen this injury as a real positive for me because it's given me time to get away from cricket. I went away for a holiday with my family to Portugal and literally came back a new man. You don't quite realize it until you've done it. Mentally, the break's done me a world of good. Now I feel like I'm that kid again in the back garden, wanting to play cricket every minute of the day," he added.