"Best of me is yet to come...": England's Livingstone ahead of 1st West Indies ODI

Ahead of the first ODI against West Indies at North Sound, England stand-in captain Liam Livingstone said he is honoured at being named the skipper for the series and asserted that his best is yet to come as a player. England will kickstart their tour of West Indies with the first ODI of the three-match series at North Sound. Speaking as quoted by Sky Sports ahead of the match, Livingstone said that it is not every day that someone is an England captain.

"It is not every day someone tells you you are going to be England captain. It is an incredibly proud thing for me," Livingstone, 31, said after being included in the ODI side as a captain following his initial dropping from the ODI side during the home series against Australia.

A calf injury to skipper Jos Buttler, who has not played any game since the 2024 T20 World Cup semifinal against India in the Caribbean, paved the way for Liam's rise to captaincy. It was the T20I series against Australia which led to the all-rounder's return to ODIs. During the T20Is against Australia, he made scores of 87 and 37 and took five wickets. He was included in the ODI series squad against Australia later, scoring 108 runs in four matches, including a half-century and two wickets. Livingstone said that as an experienced player, it is his duty to make the newer players feel comfortable in the national side environment.

"I want the next few games to be a hell of a lot of fun, play some good cricket, win some games and then hand the reins back to Jos," he added.

Livingstone took his omission from the ODI side in a positive way, saying that he had a conversation with the managing director of men's team Rob Key, and asked him for another opportunity to prove everyone doubting his place wrong.

"In the series against Australia, I certainly felt I did that. I am in a very different place to where I was six or 12 months ago, I feel like a kid, like I am almost at the start of a new career."

"I feel like the best of me is still to come," he concluded his point.

Only twice in his 30 ODI career, Livingstone has batted above number six or faced above 50 deliveries. He feels that he is good enough to play for the ODI side but needed more responsibility as a player, which he was not getting down the order.

"If you are batting seven and only bowling a couple of overs a game it becomes quite a difficult role for someone who wants to be involved."

"I feel I have worked a few things out with my batting and had a really good end to the summer. Now I am excited to get a bat back in my hand and prove that I am a better player than someone who bats at seven. I believe I can do more damage if I face 60 balls rather than 20," he concluded.

England squad for ODI series: Philip Salt, Jordan Cox, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone(c), Dan Mousley, Jacob Bethell, Michael-Kyle Pepper(w), Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Rehan Ahmed, Reece Topley, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, John Turner, Jafer Chohan. (ANI)