‘Incredibly proud, felt like a kid’ - Liam Livingstone after being appointed as England captain

England appointed Liam Livingstone as captain for the ODI series against West Indies as Jos Buttler is yet to recover from his calf injury which has kept him out of action since The Hundred 2024. In his absence, Harry Brook led the team against Australia last month and now, the selectors have chosen Livingstone for the role.

Notably, Livngstone was one of the three senior cricketers who were dropped for the series against Australia. Moeen Ali announced his retirement from international cricket after not being selected while Jonny Bairstow is not in the scheme of things currently. Livingstone, meanwhile, got a second lifeline as he was called up for the series at the last moment to replace Buttler. He has a good chance to prove his value and also do well as captain of the team.

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Reflecting upon the development, the all-rounder mentioned that is incredibly proud and felt like a kid when the announcement was made. He mentioned having a conversation with England’s managing director Rob Key and asked him to give him another opportunity. He hopes to make the most of the chance and believes that he is yet to give his best.

“It's not every day someone tells you you're going to be England captain, it's an incredibly proud thing for me. Being left out is all part of professional sport, but we'd had a couple of difficult tournaments, and maybe I didn't get out of that rut as quickly as I could have. I sat down with Rob Key, had a really honest conversation with him and said, 'all I want is another opportunity, and hopefully I can prove you wrong',” Livingstone was quoted as saying by Eurosport. 

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“In the series against Australia, I certainly felt I did that. I'm in a very different place to where I was six or 12 months ago. I feel like a kid, like I'm almost at the start of a new career. I feel like the best of me is still to come,” he added.