Liam Livingstone’s explosive accusations against England head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key could be written off as the words of a player bitter that he has been dropped.
They are though powerful, not only in their content but in their timing. McCullum is speaking to the England & Wales Cricket Board this week about his future.
He may yet hold onto his role despite last winter’s horrendous Ashes campaign in Australia, when poor planning, preparation and off-field strife gave the impression of a regime that is not only deeply unserious but unprofessional too.
Yet with the evidence mounting up against the Kiwi, it cannot be a given that he will be asked to stay on – not after Livingstone blew the whistle on a dressing-room environment that many had suspected was too slack, easy-going and loose.
Liam Livingstone has not featured at international level for more than a year (Photo: Getty)It is difficult to know where to start when it comes to Livingstone’s revealing interview with ESPN Cricinfo.
Let’s go with the all-rounder, who has not played for England since last year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan, talking about watching the recent T20 World Cup.
“There wasn’t any part of me that was wishing I was playing in that team, to be honest,” he said.
Livingstone’s detailing of how his pleas for help during the loss of form that ultimately saw him dropped fell on deaf ears confirmed many of the suspicions people have about the looseness of the Bazball regime.
“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, and everything will take care of itself,” he said.
“I was just trying to ask for help to get better. You’d hit a couple out of the middle of the bat and they’d go, ‘Great, you found it. Let’s go back to the hotel.’ It wasn’t the most enjoyable experience for me.”
As for when he was eventually dropped at the start of last summer, Livingstone’s recollections do not reflect well on anybody at the ECB.
“I don’t think it would have reached a minute,” he said of the phone call from McCullum. “I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz. Wrighty [outgoing selector Luke Wright] didn’t reach out, and Brooky [captain Harry Brook] sent me a text.
“That probably sums that group up. Keysy 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.
“I didn’t hear off him until the end of September. 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.”
England managing director Rob Key also finds himself in Livingstone’s crosshairs (Photo: Getty)Most damning of all, though, is Livingstone’s recollection of his phone call with Key last September when told his central contract would not be renewed.
After complaining about the lack of communication he claims Key told him he had “100 more important things to do than speak to you.”
If true, this attitude reeks of arrogance, rudeness and disdain for those on the outside.
It is the same attitude that saw England initially cover up and lie about Brook’s altercation with a bouncer in Wellington last October just hours before an ODI.
Livingstone is not a player on the fringes. He has played 100 internationals and is on a £1m year’s Indian Premier League contract.
Most damaging is the fact this is the first time since McCullum became England Test coach in 2022 a player has criticised the environment.
It might be easy for the ECB to ignore Livingstone’s testimony but they should probably be asking why he felt the need to speak out.
Then maybe look at what he says about Eoin Morgan, England’s World Cup-winning captain he first played under and a man who might be a good candidate to take over from McCullum if the ECB actually holds someone accountable for the Ashes shambles.
“The best person I ever had was Morgs,” he said. “It was very chilled out. But everyone was humble about it, and you knew when you turned up to cricket, it was pretty serious.
“Everybody knew there were players performing around county cricket, and if you didn’t do your job, the next one was in. It doesn’t seem the same way at the moment.”
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