"Does Liam Livingstone know what his role is?" - England legend questions all-rounder's place after consistent failures in white-ball cricket

Former England cricketer Sir Geoffrey Boycott has questioned Liam Livingstone's place in the limited-overs side after his consistent failures as an all-rounder. Boycott stated that he has hardly understood Livingstone's role in the side as he has hardly seen him deliver the goods.

Having made his 50-overs international debut in 2021, the 31-year-old averages 31.07 with the bat and 39.28 with the ball in 39 matches. The Champions Trophy 2025 saw him manage only 33 runs and take three wickets at 33 apiece. England were out of the tournament in the group stage itself without any win.

In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott wrote that he has heard about Livingstone's hard-hitting abilities but has hardly seen the goods from the all-rounder. He wrote:

"Does Liam Livingstone know what his role is? In fact, does anyone know what his role is because I don’t. He comes in whatever the state of the game and whacks a couple of boundaries and then gets out. There is a lot of talk about how destructive a hitter he is but for me he rarely delivers."

With Jamie Smith getting to double figures only once in the tournament after being promoted to No.3, Boycott suggested that Joe Root should have batted at that slot. He wrote:

"Jamie Smith as a No 3 was ridiculous. Smith has done well as a newcomer to Test cricket but if I was an England batsman selected for the 50-over team and they promoted a wicketkeeper to bat in front of me I would be insulted and mad as hell."

England will need a complete reset of their white-ball reset, having been inconsistent for a few years now, especially since winning the 2019 World Cup. Although they won the T20 World Cup in 2022, the Englishmen failed to defend it in 2024 and relinquished the 50-over crown in 2023.

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"Salt is a T20 dasher" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott slams England opener

Sir Geoffrey Boycott. (Image Credits: Getty)

Boycott also hit out at Phil Salt, claiming that he is not a proper ODI batter as he plays the slog quite frequently and added:

"For me, Salt is a T20 dasher. He rarely ever plays an important innings that impacts on a match. Too often it is a slog or two in between a proper stroke without looking as if he will stay in and make a substantial contribution that will impact the match."

The Englishmen's next 50-overs assignment is in May-June at home against England.