Liam Livingstone states his case as England beat Pakistan in final warm-up

With a mis-hit shot that squirmed past the wicketkeeper and away for four, Sam Curran brought England’s eighth game against Pakistan in little more than a month, and their T20 World Cup preparations, to an appropriately messy conclusion.

Played in an eerie, echoey, empty stadium, an atmosphere reminiscent of the peak covid sporting hellscape, this was a match of occasionally chaotic running, sometimes hapless fielding and frequently wild hitting, a game of freebies and second chances. But by winning by six wickets, with 26 balls remaining, England extended the positive momentum which built across their recent series against Pakistan and Australia. As Jos Buttler said after the game: “I think everything we wanted to get out of today we did.”

England had made it clear that they would have preferred not to have played this game at all, but for Liam Livingstone at least it was important. Nearly two months after his last appearance the 29-year-old returned from ankle injury to contribute with both bat and ball, surely doing enough to secure his place in the side to face Afghanistan on Saturday. If England choose to play a bowler-heavy side in that game, which is believed to be Buttler’s preference, his return would come at the expense of Harry Brook, a decision rendered more difficult by the 23-year-old’s continued excellence – he batted beautifully here, scoring 45 off 24 balls.

Livingstone, meanwhile, was not only England’s most economical bowler, he then scored 28 off 16, memorably sending one mighty six onto the stadium roof (and also, admittedly, benefiting from two calamitous drops in as many balls). This was a night when Livingstone’s luck was in – as proved when, after his first couple of deliveries, he signalled with