Star all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who is a key member of the England squad in the forthcoming Cricket World Cup in India, is hoping that his side will be able to defend their title. The defending champions will play New Zealand in the tournament opener on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in a rematch of the 2019 final.
The 30-year-old recalled his memory of watching England’s epic victory in the 2019 final contested at the Lord's Cricket Ground. Three years after that, Livingstone managed to win a World Cup with the team as England defeated Pakistan to clinch the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. He believes the experience England got from both the title wins could help the team in defending their title.
“It’s huge. The experience of 2019 probably helped us last year in 2022 with the lads we had out there. Certainly Stokesy [Ben Stokes], in particular, having played a massive role in 2019, I have no doubt it gave him the clarity to do that in ’22. Like I said, we’ve got a lot of experience in our group, a lot of cricket played under our belts. The lads have got great memories of World Cups, the last two have gone well, so hopefully we can continue that," Livingstone told inews.co.uk.
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Livingstone further spoke about Ben Stokes' decision to come out of retirement for the upcoming World Cup. The England Test skipper was key for the team in the World Cups in 2019 in 2022. The 32-year-old was excellent during the recent ODI series against New Zealand when he hit a record 182 runs in just 124 balls.
“It’s great. Any team with Ben Stokes in it is a better team. Everybody loves having Ben around, it’s not just on the pitch but in the changing room, away from cricket. He’s just a great competitor and I think anybody in the world would have Ben Stokes in their team. It’s a massive boost for us and I’m sure Ben’s looking forward to it," Livingstone added.
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