The ‘extra lead’ of Archer and Wood makes Livingstone in England enthusiastic

England all-rounder Liam Livingstone believes the “extra edge” of fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will boost the side’s chances when they begin their T20 World Cup defense in Barbados next week.

The two radically fast players were reunited for the first time at The Oval on Thursday, with both Archer and Wood playing their part as England won by seven wickets to seal a 2-0 T20 series victory over Pakistan.

Archer made the key breakthrough by sacking in-form Pakistan captain Babar Azam for 36, sparking a collapse that saw the tourists fall from 59-0 to 157 all out.

And Wood, clocking 96mph (154kph) in his first spell, returned to produce two scorching bouncers that took the wickets of Azam Khan and Naseem Shah.

Spin-bowling all-rounder Livingston struck twice in an over before the English top order spent time in the middle, with captain Jos Buttler (39) and Phil Salt (45) looking particularly closely at the ball.

“A 2-0 win for the World Cup is great,” Livingstone said after England won the only two games of a four-match series in which any cricket was possible after draws in Leeds and Cardiff.

“I think what was better was what we actually got out of that, especially because Jof and Woody give us that kind of extra edge that we haven’t had before, which is pretty cool.”

– ‘One step ahead’ –

Injuries have blighted the careers of both Archer and Wood, but Livingstone, 30, added: “Every team that has them, before you even start the game you feel like you’re one step ahead.

“We know that pace can work in two ways: it can get you wickets and it can get you runs. They’re not always going to blow teams away, but I think having those two is a pretty big weapon and CJ (Chris Jordan) has bowled beautifully as well.”

England will hope their newfound confidence is justified after a miserable defense of their 50-over World Cup title in India last year, which led to questions over the positions of captain Buttler and white-ball coach Matthew Mott.

But the England hierarchy remained loyal to the duo, who had some credit in the bank after steering the team to victory at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, with Livingstone insisting: “I think we’re in a much better place than we were six months ago, which is quite exciting for all of us.”

Livingstone, meanwhile, said he was finally pain-free after a long-term knee injury.

“It wasn’t the best 18 months of trying to play with a little something,” he said.

“It drains your mind, it takes away your enjoyment of cricket,” added Livingstone, who revealed he was feeling down at the end of the Indian Premier League.

But an injection appears to have done the trick for his knee and revived Livingstone’s morale.

“It’s much better,” he said. “I feel like I have a smile on my face and that’s all that really matters to me.”

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