“It wasn’t quite a rescue….”: England’s Livingstone after match-winning knock against NZ

Southampton [UK], September 11 (ANI): Following his side’s 79-run win over New Zealand in the second ODI, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone said that his innings was not really a rescue mission since the team has batting depth, adding that he takes pride in his adaptability as a player. 

A gutsy half-century by Liam Livingstone and deadly spells by pacers Reece Topley and David Willey outclassed Trent Boult’s powerplay brilliance as England beat New Zealand by 79 runs in the second ODI at Southampton on Sunday night.

“It was not quite a rescue mission, we pride ourselves on our depth, When I went in I got used to the conditions with Mo (Moeen Ali) then Sammy (Sam Curran) played well. It has been a frustrating year for me, hard role when you have time off and then have to smack it from ball one. I pride myself on adaptability,” said Livingstone in the post-match presentation. 

“I had a lean couple of months, but the other day in Cardiff did me the world of good. I just needed one innings. It is a frustrating game, sometimes it is hard to get time in the middle when you come in with 20 balls left in a T20 innings. But my hard work paid off,” he added. 

Coming to the match, after being put to bat first, early powerplay strikes by a returning Trent Boult reduced England to 55/5, with skipper Jos Buttler (30 in 25 balls, with four boundaries) being the only decent contributor among the top five batters. 

Then Livingstone had a 48-run stand with Moeen (33 in 32 balls with three fours and a six) that helped England reach the 100-run mark and then a 112-run stand with Sam Curran (42 in 35 balls, with one four and two sixes) that helped England reach 226/7 in 50 overs.

Boult (3/37) was the pick of the bowlers for NZ. Tim Southee (2/65) got two scalps while Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner got one each. 

In the chase of 227, NZ was reduced to 55/3, with Finn Allen going for a duck and openers Devon Conway (14) and Will Young (33) falling quickly after a 49-run stand. After a 56-run partnership between Daryl Mitchell (57 in 52 balls, with six fours and a six) and skipper Tom Latham (19), NZ lost their seven wickets for just 36 runs, bundling out for 147 in 26.5 overs. 

Reece Topley (3/27) and David Willey (3/34) were the pick of the bowlers for England. Moeen got two while Atkinson got one. 

Livingstone took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award.