Livingstone strikes it rich as Lancs cash in

Lancashire 204 for 7 (Livingstone 55, Brown 54, Bresnan 3-24) beat Yorkshire 178 for 7 (Root 92*, Edwards 3-33) by 26 runsScorecard

“This is an Altrincham service, the next station is Old Trafford.” The Metrolink monotone did nothing to reduce the excitement in the steaming carriage. When the tram cruised to a halt, passengers burst out on to the platform like grapes spilling out from an over-filled plastic bag. Lime-bibbed attendants marshalled a crossing normally deserted for four-day games. Lowry’s “Going to the Match”? Yes, maybe, although there were far more pastel shades than in the famous painting and the spectators had to walk around 500 yards less than at least some of them do in winter. It was no difference in one respect, of course. Money, thought the cricket ground, money. This is something we can sell.

And it took less than an over before the vast commercial power of T20 was plain once again. Martin Guptill swept Joe Root’s first ball of the game for four and Alviro Petersen pulled the final delivery of that same over for six. Yet Guptill and Petersen’s batting was merely the gentle overture to the thunderous percussion of a tall 22-year-old right-hander from Barrow whose 23-ball 55 was not only his county’s quickest short-form half-century but also catapulted him into the chaotic firmament of T20 cricket. This Friday evening may be remembered as the occasion when Liam Livingstone swept back the curtain and stood on one of the game’s biggest stages.

In company with Karl Brown, who batted fluently enough to make a comparatively pedestrian 54 off 38 balls, Livingstone added 98 to Lancashire’s total in 8.2 overs. Ben Coad and Liam Plunkett were lifted into the crowd for sixes; Adil Rashid, who bowled too short, was siege-gunned over square leg. Livingstone also hit six fours on an evening when former Test cricketers were excitedly trumpeting his potential …

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