Out-of-favour Livingstone says 'no-one cares' in England set-up / Photo: Asif HASSAN - AFP
Out-of-favour Livingstone says 'no-one cares' in England set-up
Liam Livingstone has slammed the England hierarchy following his exile from international cricket, saying "no-one cares about you" when you are dropped.
The Lancashire all-rounder has exactly 100 caps for his country across all three formats but has not featured for over a year.
In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was highly critical of his treatment by England director of cricket Rob Key.
He also described his time at last year's Champions Trophy as "the worst experience I've had playing cricket" and said he did not miss being involved in the recent T20 World Cup.
The England and Wales Cricket Board's Ashes review, covering "tour planning and preparation, individual performance and behaviours" after the 4-1 thrashing in Australia, is still ongoing.
Livingstone, reflecting on a lack of communication after his dropping in a brief phone call by England coach Brendon McCullum in May, said: "I don't think it would have reached a minute.
"I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz (McCullum). Brooky (captain Harry Brook) sent me a text.
"Keysy said nothing, (he) said 'I'll speak to you in the summer'.
"I actually rang him one day, and he said he was busy at a Test camp at Loughborough and then I didn't hear off him until the end of September.
"That probably sums that group up as a collective. That was a bit of an eye-opening experience about the group and the regime: if you're in, you're in, and if you're not in, no-one cares about you."
Livingstone, still in demand on the franchise circuit, with a £1 million ($1.32 million) IPL deal from Sunrisers Hyderabad and a £350,000 bid from London Spirit at last week's Hundred auction, insisted: "I still believe I'm one of the best players in white-ball cricket in England.
"Just because I'm not playing for England, because of a couple of people’s opinions, it doesn't mean that I'm not good enough to do it."
As for missing the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India, where Will Jacks performed well in Livingstone's old role of spinner and hard-hitting batsman, he said: "I didn't miss it one bit.
"There wasn't any part of me that was wishing I was playing in that team, to be honest."
(H.VanNiekerk--TPT)
