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England stand-in captain Philip Salt had special praise in store for Liam Livingstone following the heroics he produced in the second T20I against Australia to level the series at 1-1.
Since regaining his full fitness, Livingstone has lived up to his reputation of being a power hitter. He made the headlines with a scintillating set of aggressive stroke play against Australia's inexperienced bowling line-up. Before Matthew Short sneaked the ball past his wild shot, he had already taken England right on the cusp of the finishing line. His 87-run onslaught was laced with six fours and five maximums at a whopping strike rate of 185.11. "Incredible performance, what Livi did was second to none. He's played a lot of cricket. He's no mug. Started really well, with five wickets and 100-plus runs in two games. Hopefully, he can take that to Old Trafford," Salt said in the post-match presentation. While Livingstone stole the limelight, it was youngster Jacob Bethell who became the talk of the town. He acted as the perfect anchor during their 90-run partnership and charged on the bowlers when the situation required. His quick-fire 44 off 24 deliveries kept England in contention to chase down the target of 194. "To see Beth come out and play the way he did, pace his innings, and take their best bowler down, really impressed. Knew we'd have to play well. They had a good power play. We talked about extending those partnerships after Southampton, nice to do it straight away," he said. "[Bethell] He is a real talent, the way he took down Zampa, not many could do that in their second international game," he added. With the series level at 1-1, Salt is enjoying the captaincy role that fell in his hands after Jos Buttler's injury. "I'm enjoying it, feels like it's the best place to see the game from. A win tonight keeps the series alive and gives us a good incentive at Old Trafford," he concluded. (ANI)
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