Liam Livingstone Exposes Dark Side Of ECB And Brendon McCullum After Mysterious Exit

Brendon McCullum and Liam Livingstone [Source: X]

All-rounder Liam Livingstone has strongly criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board team management, also taking aim at head coach Brendon McCullum. Livingstone was dropped from the national side in 2025 and has not been part of the setup since March last year after the Champions Trophy.

He has now raised serious questions about whether he can return to the team. Largely painting Brendon McCullum and the ECB as the villains, Liam Livingstone elaborated on how he was left out of the setup. 

The 32-year-old played his last international match against South Africa on March 1, 2025. After that, Livingstone largely focused on domestic leagues like The Hundred, Abu Dhabi T10, ILT20, SA20, etc.

Liam Livingstone’s Recent Exposure In Domestic & International Cricket

Livingstone's stints in domestic leagues, both with the bat and ball, have been mixed. In the recently concluded SA20 2025–26, he managed to take two wickets from three appearances while scoring 61 runs at an average of 30.50, with a solid strike rate of 164.86.

However, in the ILT20, he disappointed with the bat, scoring just 226 runs from 12 appearances, along with three wickets from five matches with the ball.

Notably, in his last international stint during the Champions Trophy 2025, Livingstone managed 33 runs from three innings and picked up only three wickets at an economy rate of 6.53. This could be one of the reasons why England opted to experiment with other players instead of continuing with him.

Speaking about his frustration with the ECB, Livingstone revealed that he only received a short call from Brendon McCullum informing him that he had been dropped from the squad for the West Indies series in 2025.

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Livingstone Expresses Frustration With ECB

According to Livingstone, the explanation was brief, as the conversation lasted barely a minute. His omission was also not properly communicated by outgoing selector, nor by Harry Brook, who remained distant, alongside managing director Rob Key, who also chose not to communicate with him.

“I asked why [I was dropped]. 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," Liam Livingstone told ESPNCricinfo.

“That probably sums that group up as a collective. Keysy [Rob Key] said nothing . [He] 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. And then I didn’t hear from him until the end of September," Liam added.

Liam Blames Unclear Role Certainty And Horror Of Management

Livingstone has also often had issues with Brendon McCullum regarding his role in the team. During the 2025 tour of India, when he was struggling for form, Livingstone revealed that McCullum’s advice was not helpful.

“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," Liam Livingstone said.

In terms of his batting position, Livingstone has played most of his T20I matches at number five. However, he was often pushed down to number seven whenever England’s core lineup returned after injuries or setbacks.

“When things don’t go right, of course, you’re going to care; if I didn’t care, then I probably wouldn’t want to play the sport. One of my frustrations with playing for England was that whenever I went up the order, I did really well. And then the big boys would come back, and I was always back down at No. 7.

At the end of the day, I don’t want to be someone that’s a sixth bowler and batting at No. 7. I feel like it’s a waste of my talent, but that’s only my opinion," Livingstone said while hinting at Brendon McCullum.

Overall, he played 19 T20I matches at number five, where he scored one century with an average of 24.88 and a strike rate of 153.67. His best returns with the bat, however, came at number four, where he averaged 13.75 from 10 matches at a strike rate of 157.36.

Liam Livingstone Trusts IPL Assignment With SRH

Livingstone, who was roped in for ₹13 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 auction, is now looking forward to the domestic tournament. The upcoming season presents a crucial opportunity for him to revive his career and potentially earn a recall to the England side, as he himself has indicated.

“Hopefully, I can have a season like the season I had in my first year at Punjab [Kings, in 2022] where I felt like I was playing really well and won loads of games from No. 4. [IPL] is a very different experience to anything else throughout the year; it’s a long time away from home – but if you give it everything you’ve got, it can repay you very nicely," Liam Livingstone added.

Notably, Livingstone has played 49 IPL matches so far, with a batting average of 26.28 and a strike rate of 148.76, along with 13 wickets at a bowling average of 36.08, highlighting his value as a dynamic all-rounder.

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