Liam Livingstone has claimed “no one cares about you” in a scathing account of his treatment by the current England regime. The Lancashire all-rounder has exactly 100 caps for his country across all three formats, but he hasn’t featured for over a year and it looks like he’s convinced things to stay that way.
In an interview with Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was highly critical of his interactions with director of cricket, Rob Key and described his time in last year’s Champions Trophy as “the worst experience playing cricket” and said he did not miss being a part of the recent T20 World Cup.
While his words could be construed as an out-of-favoured player protesting against a management group that is looking elsewhere – he was cut from the 2025-26 central contract list – it would be worrying if his views were replicated elsewhere beyond the England bubble.
The England and Wales Cricket Board’s Ashes review, which includes “tour planning and preparation, individual performances and behaviour”, is ongoing after the 4-1 defeat in Australia.
Describing the lack of communication after he was dropped by head coach Brendon McCullum in a brief phone call in May last year, Livingstone said: “I don’t think it even got to a minute. I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. He was off the hook. Brookie [Harry Brook] Sent me a text.
“No one said anything, [he] Said I would talk to you in the summer. I actually rang him one day and he said he was busy at a test camp in Loughborough and then I didn’t hear from him until the end of September.
“It probably represented that group as a collective. It was an eye-opening experience about groups and governance: if you’re in it, you’re in it, and if you’re not in it, nobody cares about you. It gave me peace of mind that my cricket is going to be more entertaining going forward.
“I was asking for help and all I found out was that I care too much and I need to relax a little.”
With a £1m Indian Premier League deal from Sunrisers Hyderabad and a £350,000 bid from London Spirit in the Hundred auction last week, Livingstone remains in demand on the franchise circuit, and confidence in his abilities at the highest level remains intact.
He said, “I still believe that I am one of the best players in white-ball cricket in England. Just because I am not playing for England because of some people’s opinion, it does not mean that I am not good enough to do it.”
On his absence from the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India, where Will Jacques had performed well in his old role at Livingstone, he said: “I didn’t miss it one bit. To be honest there was no part of me that wanted me to play in that team.”