New Delhi, Sep 14
England's explosive batter Liam Livingstone made his 50th T20I appearance memorable with a superb 87 from 47 balls leading the charge for a series-levelling win for the hosts' over Australia at Cardiff.
After the game ended, Livingstone credited his heroics to going up the batting order, giving him more responsibility and time to unleash a carnage on bowlers'. "Moving up the order has been nice, it's given me a bit more responsibility, more time to bat. I enjoy the responsibility. It's not easy coming in at six or seven, it's hard to get into a rhythm so moving up the order has been nice. I feel like I'm in decent nick with bat and ball," he said.
Post the series opener at Southampton, Livingstone had talked about his struggles with form and fitness in the last few years. But his breath-taking carnage at Cardiff, laced with five sixes and six boundaries signalled the start of the all-rounder finding his groove in the shortest format for England.
"I feel like I'm getting my body back to normal. The last couple of years have taught me a lot of life lessons. I'm enjoying my cricket, it's nice to play with a smile on my face, and that's the main thing. I've had a tough couple of years, so it's nice to be out here with a smile on my face," he added.
He was also well-supported by young Jacob Bethell via an entertaining 44 off 24 balls that featured three sixes and four fours. Bethell was signed by the Melbourne Renegades in this month's Big Bash League Overseas Draft, and Livingstone said he was thrilled for him. "Bethell is an incredible talent. He's got a great head on young shoulders. He's such an exciting talent. He's a fearless kid and to play like that is pretty special."
Similar words were echoed by England skipper Phil Salt. "Bethell is a real talent, the way he took down Zampa, there's not many that can do that, really pleased for him. He put on an incredible performance and what Livy (Livingstone) did was second to none. We all know he's capable of that, the way he paced the innings and took their best bowler down."
The T20I series between Australia and England will end with the decider at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday, and is followed by the first of five ODIs which takes place four days later at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.