March 17 (Reuters) - All‑rounder Liam Livingstone said he was left out in the cold after being dropped by England last year and that the current regime does not care about players outside the core group.
The 32‑year‑old has not played for England since the Champions Trophy in Pakistan last year, where he scored only 33 runs and took three wickets in three matches.
Livingstone, who has played 60 T20 Internationals, 39 ODIs and one test for England, described that tour as the “worst experience” of his career and said communication from team management broke down after he was dropped.
Coach Brendon McCullum broke the news he was being dropped last May in a telephone call lasting barely a minute, he told ESPNCricinfo.
"I asked why; they said they wanted to try someone else. That was off Baz (McCullum). Brooky (Harry Brook) sent me a text.
“Keysy (Director of Cricket Rob Key) said nothing, 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.
"That probably sums that group up as a collective. 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," he added.
“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.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside UK business hours.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in New Delhi; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
