Livingstone says England have grown into World Cup ahead of India clash

Liam Livingstone is hopeful England are coming good at the perfect time ahead of their T20 World Cup semi-final against India, having grown into the tournament after a slow start.

The defending champions almost succumbed to a humiliating group-stage exit, with only old rivals Australia keeping them in with a dramatic victory over Scotland.

Having finished second in Group B, Jos Buttler’s team did likewise in Group 2 at the Super-8 stage, a resounding victory over the United States sending them through at West Indies’ expense.

England now have a chance to reach their fourth T20 World Cup final and their third in the last four editions, while a third triumph at the tournament would take them clear of the Windies for the outright record.

All-rounder Livingstone says England have a chance to prove tournaments are not about how you start, but how you finish.

“In tournament cricket, sometimes it is better to sneak up and nick it at the end,” said Livingstone. “Hopefully that is the way we will go.

“A lot of lads have been contributing in the last few games which should stand us in good stead going forward. We’ve hopefully got two more massive games.”

Livingstone sustained a torso injury while batting against Namibia in the group stage but has shrugged that problem off to play all of England’s matches.

He has yet to truly hit top form, taking two wickets and scoring 13 and 33 in his two innings with the bat in the middle order, but he is confident a big finish is coming.

“As a kid I always wanted to be involved, that’s the reason I started bowling a few years back,” he said.

“So batting at seven and maybe bowling one over, that’s where the hard bit comes as you want to be involved.

“Thankfully the last two games I struck the ball well against South Africa and bowled pretty well [against the USA], so I feel I’m in a good place.”

Source: Sportsmax