England's batsmen struggle in pink-ball warm-up with uncapped Liam Livingstone the sole bright spot
Livingstone stood alone as the success story of an imperfect day, reaching 74 at the cut-off point when England lost their 10th wicket, and eventually 88 from 112 balls
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Only uncapped Liam Livingstone could be satisfied with his performance as England batted poorly on the final day of their pink-ball warm-up match in Hamilton.
Joe Root's men collectively squandered an opportunity for relevant preparation before next week's first Test, losing their first 10 wickets for 195 runs in 46 overs in reply to a New Zealand XI's 376 for 10 the previous day.
Livingstone stood alone as the success story of an imperfect day, reaching 74 at the cut-off point when England lost their 10th wicket, and eventually 88 from 112 balls as several batsmen joined him for their second attempt in an exercise of glorified middle practice which resulted in a stumps 'total' of 319 for 14.
There were seven catches behind the wicket or in the slips in the first 10 England lost.
Only Mark Stoneman, edging a good one from Seth Rance to go for a single in the third over, and Root could claim to have been got out.
All others played a significant part in their own dismissals, as did Stoneman second time round when he promptly mis-pulled to mid-on - taking his daily average to 1.5 with three runs off 20 balls, statistics symptomatic of England's often self-inflicted struggles.
Batting coach Graham Thorpe conceded that the majority were disappointed with their performance as only Livingstone, with his 13 fours and a six from 113 balls, and Root - who mustered an unbeaten 50 at his second attempt - could feel remotely satisfied.
"The first two sessions were indifferent for us, but it was about getting the guys up to speed and making them aware they've got a Test next week," he said. "It's the challenge of a short Test tour. A few of them will be disappointed they didn't spend longer at the crease, but Liam Livingstone played very well."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments