Liam Livingstone in action against Australia (AFP)
Livingstone then hammered the left-arm fast bowler for 28 runs — the most expensive by an Australian bowler in men’s ODIs — including four sixes in five balls, before ending the innings with a four.
Liam Livingstone’s fiery blitz in the final over of England’s final over against Australia left crowds sppechless as the batter smashed ace pacer Mitchell Starc for 28 runs in the final over.
Livingstone;s stunning 62 not out took England to 312-5 in the fourth one-day international against world champions Australia at Lord’s on Friday after skipper Harry Brook just fell short of completing successive hundreds.
England were 16 runs shy of 300 when Mitchell Starc began the final over of a match reduced by rain to 39 overs per side.
But Livingstone then hammered the left-arm fast bowler for 28 runs — the most expensive by an Australian bowler in men’s ODIs — including four sixes in five balls, before ending the innings with a four.
The big-hitting Livingstone faced just 27 balls in total, hitting three fours and seven sixes.
Starc finished with hugely expensive figures of 0-70 in eight overs.
Brook, fresh from a match-winning maiden ODI century in the third ODI at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, came in with England faltering at 71-2.
But he responded with an exhilarating 58-ball innings including 11 fours and a six in a match England must win to level this five-match series at 2-2 ahead of Sunday’s finale at Bristol.
Brook received good support from opener Ben Duckett (63) during a stand of 79 after Australia won the toss.
England lost Brook and Jamie Smith (39) in quick succession before Livingstone ran riot.
They were 284-5 when the last over started only for Livingstone to drive Starc into the pavilion for six.
And two balls later, Livingstone lofted Starc for six over midwicket and next ball drove him for another. The fifth ball of the over also went for six, courtesy of a monster pull before Livingstone scythed the last ball for four.
England initially found runs hard to come by, with Josh Hazlewood bowling a superb second-over maiden to Phil Salt.
Australia thought they had Brook out for 17 when another flick off Starc was taken down the legside by World Cup-winning wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, playing his first match of the series following injury.
Following an umpire review, however, it was clear the ball had bounced into Inglis’s gloves — with boos ringing round Lord’s as the replay was shown on the giant screen.
It was the second controversial incident involving an Australia wicketkeeper at Lord’s in as many matches after Alex Carey — playing as a batsman only on Friday — stumped Jonny Bairstow during an Ashes Test last year when the England batsman thought the ball was dead.
Duckett completed a 51-ball fifty also including four fours — the left-hander’s second half-century of the series following his 95 in the first ODI at Trent Bridge.
Adam Zampa’s first two overs went for 21 runs but the leg-spinner removed Duckett when the batsman holed out off a slog-sweep.
Brook fell in sight of a hundred when his drive off Zampa was caught low at long-on by Maxwell.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
