New Delhi [India], December 30 (ANI): The provisional England squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the following year’s ICC T20 World Cup saw two stars not being rewarded with a place despite their fine performance in T20 cricket in recent times: all-rounder Liam Livingstone and wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox.
Livingstone last played for England during the ICC Champions Trophy and has been out of England’s scheme of things since then. He had a lean 2025, scoring just 162 runs in 11 innings at a poor average of 14.62 and picking up just five wickets at an average of above 54. On the other hand, Cox has played three ODIs and six T20Is for England, scoring 88 runs in four T20I innings with a half-century and a strike rate of over 131.
After being dropped from the English side, Livingstone had a poor Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the champions, scoring just 112 runs in eight innings at an average of 16.00 and just one fifty.
However, after the Indian Premier League (IPL), Livingstone has turned a new leaf in his career, having solid seasons with Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred and for Lancashire in Vitality Blast, scoring 719 runs in 25 matches at an average of 37.84, with a strike rate of over 160 with four fifties, and picking up 13 wickets at an average of 22, with best figures of 2/11. The all-rounder was the seventh-highest run-getter in The Hundred with 241 runs in eight innings at an average of 40.16, with a strike rate of over 155 and a half-century. In the Vitality Blast, he scored 260 runs in seven matches and innings at an average of 52.00 and a strike rate of over 176 with a fifty.
Currently in the International League T20 (ILT20), though, he has been patchy, scoring 218 runs in 10 innings at an average of 27.25, with an SR of above 148 with two fifties and being wicketless in three innings.
Cox, on the other hand, was the top run-getter in The Hundred, playing for the champions Oval Invincibles, scoring 367 runs in nine matches at an average of 61.16, with a strike rate of over 173, with three fifties and 22 sixes. This year in 43 T20s and 41 innings, he has scored 1,277 runs at an average of 36.48, with a strike rate of over 144, with a century and eight fifties and a best score of 139*.
Currently plying his trade in ILT20 for Dubai Capitals, Cox is the third-highest run-getter, with 311 runs in 10 innings at an average of 38.87, with a strike rate of almost 125 and two fifties. He was picked by RCB for Rs 75 lakh in the IPL 2026 auction.
England squad for T20I World Cup 2026: Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, and Luke Wood. (ANI)
