Livingstone reacts to his 'best T20 innings' in quarter-final win
Lancashire's Vitality Blast quarter-final hero Liam Livingstone says his unbeaten 85 against Kent was “one of the best T20 innings I’ve ever played” as he saw the Red Rose to Finals Day.
The all-rounder, who also picked up figures of 2-21 from his four overs with the ball, top-scored for his side, earning the player of the match award for his heroics.
Livingstone blasted seven sixes in one of the standout knocks of his career to date. He hit Matt Parkinson for 18 off an over, clearing the rope down the ground three times in five balls.
Earlier in the day, he caught the dangerous Tawanda Muyeye off the bowling of Luke Wood from the first ball of the match. Later, he dismissed Kent captain Sam Billings for two.
The 32-year-old acknowledged just how well he performed in front of an electric Emirates Old Trafford crowd. “It’s probably one of the best games of cricket I’ve ever played, to be honest.
“I feel like the ball came out of my hand really nicely. It was pretty much, probably one of the best T20 innings I’ve ever played, which is pretty sweet that it came at that time.
“I’m just over the moon that I could be out there to win the game for the boys and get us to Finals Day.”
All focus will now turn to the 13th of September, when Lancashire will compete in their 10th Finals Day. That is a tally that has been bettered by only Hampshire and Somerset, who will also be at Edgbaston next Saturday.
Lifting the trophy in Birmingham is what the Red Rose have been laser-focused on throughout the competition, according to Livingstone: “At the start of the season, you want to make Finals Day in T20 cricket, and you want to go on and win it. That is certainly no different for us.
“Anything can happen, it’s finals cricket, and the more you accept that, the more you go and just treat it like a normal game of cricket, the better chance you have of winning.”
It is the 10th anniversary of Lancashire’s only T20 success to date, a number which seems to have resonated with Livingstone ahead of next week. The all-rounder said: “We’ve been there [Finals Day] 10 times, it’s been 10 years since we won it, hopefully it’s meant to be.”
2023 champions Somerset stand between Lancashire Lightning and a place in the Vitality Blast final on Saturday.
by Joe Nuttall