Liam Livingstone hits out at Brendon McCullum and Rob Key over England axing: ‘No-one cares about you’

Liam Livingstone has given a scathing account of his handling by the current England regime, claiming “no-one cares about you”.

The Lancashire all-rounder has exactly 100 caps for his country across all three formats but has not featured in over a year and seems resigned to things staying that way.

In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was highly critical of interactions with director of cricket Rob Key and described his time at last year’s Champions Trophy as “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket” and said he did not miss being part of the recent T20 World Cup.

And while his words can be framed as those of an out-of-favour player railing against a management group that has looked elsewhere – he was cut from the 2025/26 central contract list – it would be worrying if his views were replicated elsewhere beyond the England bubble.

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s Ashes review, covering “tour planning and preparation, individual performance and behaviours” after the 4-1 thrashing Down Under, is still ongoing.

Describing a lack of communication after his dropping in a brief phone call by head coach Brendon McCullum last May, Livingstone said: “I don’t think it would have reached a minute. I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz. Brooky (captain Harry Brook) sent me a text.

“Keysy said nothing, (he) said I’ll speak to you in the summer. I actually rang him one day, and he said he was busy at a Test camp at Loughborough and then I didn’t hear off him until the end of September.

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“That probably sums that group up as a collective. That was a bit of an eye-opening experience about the group and the regime: if you’re in, you’re in, and if you’re not in, no-one cares about you. That put my mind at ease that my cricket was going to be more enjoyable going forward.

“I was asking for help and pretty much all I got was that I care too much and I need to chill out a little bit.”

He remains in demand on the franchise circuit, with a £1m IPL deal from Sunrisers Hyderabad and a £350,000 bid from London Spirit at last week’s Hundred auction, and retains confidence in his abilities at the highest level.

“I still believe I’m one of the best players in white-ball cricket in England. Just because I’m not playing for England, because of a couple of people’s opinions, it doesn’t mean that I’m not good enough to do it,” he said.

On his absence from the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India, where Will Jacks performed well in Livingstone’s old role, he added: “I didn’t miss it one bit. There wasn’t any part of me that was wishing I was playing in that team, to be honest.”

PA