By james art The dust may have barely settled from England’s Test series defeat in Pakistan, but their next task is already at hand as a young team embarks on a white-ball tour of the West Indies.
With Jos Buttler injured, Livingstone has been asked to lead his side in the three-match ODI series that begins in Antigua on Thursday, ending a remarkably rapid turnaround in fortunes.
It is only a matter of weeks since he was dropped from the 50-over squad for September’s games against Australia, putting his future in the format in doubt.
But two big T20 outings against the Aussies, coupled with Buttler’s fitness setback, earned him an immediate recall and now the 31-year-old finds himself ready to embrace his new influential role.
“It’s not every day someone tells you you’re going to be England captain, it’s something I’m incredibly proud of,” he told the PA news agency.
“Abandonment is part of professional sports, but we’ve had a couple of tough tournaments and maybe I didn’t get out of that rut as quickly as I could have.
“I sat down with Rob Key (managing director of men’s cricket), had a really honest conversation with him and said, ‘All I want is one more chance and hopefully I can prove you wrong.’
“In the series against Australia I definitely felt I did. 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 my best is yet to come.”
Livingstone has often been used as a utility player by England, coming into the lower middle order and used occasionally as a bowler, but as an experienced player he is increasingly eager to dictate games.
“I always said I knew I was good enough to play for England, but maybe I needed more responsibility than I was getting,” he said.
“I don’t think I got that in the last two years; if you’re batting seven and only bowling a couple of overs a game, it becomes quite a tough role for someone who wants to be involved.
“I feel like I worked out a few things with my bat and had a really good end to the summer. Now I’m excited to get a bat back in my hand and prove that I’m a better player than someone who bats at seven. I believe I can do more damage if I face 60 balls instead of 20.”
Much of Livingstone’s work in the Caribbean will be eased into some of the fresh faces, including the unlimited quartet of Dan Mausley, Michael Pepper, John Turner and Jaffer Chohan.
It’s a task he takes seriously and feels particularly qualified to take on when it comes to Jacob Bethel. The exciting 21-year-old made his debut against Australia and showed some exciting flashes of his talent.
“I see a lot of myself in Jacob, but he’s more talented than me and I’m sure he’ll have a much better career,” he said.
“But I still feel like I can accelerate his learning. I remember talking to him at Lord’s when we were trying to beat Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc, I loved being in the middle as he faced two of the best bowlers in the world. My job as an experienced player is to help these guys and make them as comfortable as possible in this environment.
“I want the next few games to be bloody fun, play some good cricket, win a few games and then hand the reins back to Jos.”