Liam Livingstone: ‘I’m being thrown in the deep end. I feel ready to swim’

“You can guess how excited I am,” Liam Livingstone says as he remembers how we had spoken for more than an hour just over two weeks ago about his desire to play Test cricket. Now, the day after he heard that his boyhood dream had come a huge step closer with the news that he will be part of England’s 15-man Test squad to tour Pakistan in December, Livingstone is in an exuberant mood. He had been just as open and friendly at Old Trafford late last month but, then, his hopes of playing Test cricket were fuelled by yearning rather than concrete hope.

It is different now. The T20 World Cup begins on Sunday and Livingstone, who is close to a full recovery from the ankle injury which affected his preparations, could be an important player for England in Australia. After his success in the IPL this year, when Livingstone smashed 34 sixes and was second only to Jos Buttler in clearing the ropes, his reputation as one of the most destructive batsmen in the world was cemented. This followed years of big hitting in various forms of white-ball franchise cricket which turned Livingstone into a millionaire.

Yet all his one-day renown and wealth mattered less than his burning ambition to break into Test cricket. The arrival in May of Brendon McCullum as England’s Test coach, and Ben Stokes as captain, at least gave Livingstone a reason to keep dreaming. Their brand of aggressive cricket, which encourages the Test team to play with freedom, chimes with the way in which Livingstone has always approached the game. But, still, the red-ball question remained. How do you break into a form of cricket you no longer play?

During our first interview Livingstone had sounded hopeful but still uncertain as we sat together and watched Lancashire