Team Abu Dhabi captain Liam Livingstone has taken Abu Dhabi T10 season 5 by storm and the English cricketer is cherishing every second of the ‘instinctive and unpredictable’ format.
Playing his debut season of Abu Dhabi T10 this year, the English all-rounder already leads the charts for the most number of sixes hit (28). Liam Livingstone has also scored 259 runs this season, including two 50s, in his nine matches and only Northern Warriors captain Rovman Powell (294) has put up more runs than him on the scoreboard.
Livingstone has also earned plaudits with his bowling, picking up seven wickets for his team, which includes some game-changing spells.
The enjoyment factor a format like the T10 brings with itself, Livingstone feels, has been the driving force behind his stellar displays on the pitch.
“It’s definitely the most instinctive format of the game. You can plan all you want but you don’t know what’s coming and I guess that’s the good thing about this format, it’s really enjoyable to play in,” Liam Livingstone said.
Livingstone’s assessment is nothing new and echoes the sentiments the fast and furious format has sparked in numerous players and fans involved with T10 cricket.
“It’s pretty cool that people are getting behind it and there’s definitely a massive future for it in the game. I think T10 cricket is going to actually improve T20 cricket and make that a little more exciting. We’re seeing teams getting 130-140 for two or three in this format and if you start taking that into T20 cricket, we’re going to start seeing a lot of 200-220 plus scores,” the England international opined.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Livingstone’s maiden Abu Dhabi T10 campaign has been his aggressive brand of captaincy, which has seen Team Abu Dhabi emerge as one of the four playoff teams this season.
Liam Livingstone’s team is now just one win away from sealing the top spot in the table – a feat which will see them enter the first eliminator, opening up the option for making a beeline for the final on December 6.
“I think we’ve played some exciting cricket. We haven’t always got it right and you’re not always going to get it right in T10 cricket but I think the way that we’ve played – we’ve tried to go out there and take as many wickets as we can and hit as many sixes as we can – is ultimately entertainment and I think it’s also the best way to win games,” Liam Livingstone noted.
Despite his team’s formidable form, the Englishman, however, isn’t counting his chickens just yet. The reason, Livingstone explained, is the unpredictability of T10 cricket, which makes the format so enticing to watch.
“We’ve put together a really strong squad and we knew we’d have a good chance of winning the tournament but it’s T10 cricket and anyone can beat anybody on their day. We’re going to have to be lucky, we’re going to have to be brave and we’re going to have to keep playing some really good cricket like we have been,” he signed off.
