Livingstone resigns Lancashire captaincy

The England international's decision comes at the end of a difficult campaign for the club, who were relegated to Division Two of the County Championship in September

Liam Livingstone has stepped down as Lancashire captain.

The England international's decision comes at the end of a difficult campaign for the club, who were relegated to Division Two of the County Championship in September.

Livingstone has taken the step in a bid to focus on his own form.

He said in a statement: "It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the Red Rose in 2018 and my decision to stand down is something that I’ve thought long and hard about.

"A big part of me wanted to continue leading the side, but I have to put the team’s interests first and the best way for me to help Lancashire is to ensure that I’m performing consistently to the best of my abilities in all formats of the game.

"I hope that the opportunity to captain Lancashire will come again once I’ve been able to perform at the highest level on a consistent basis. As a senior player, I will support the team in all ways possible and I’m determined to put in some more match winning performances for Lancashire."

^{Liam Livingstone has stepped down as Lancashire captain}

Livingstone only took on the responsibilities of captaincy at the start of last season and also led his side to T20 Blast Finals Day, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Worcestershire Rapids.

He missed a large section of the season after breaking his thumb during the Roses match at Old Trafford. The sight of Livingstone heading to the crease at No.11, with a shin pad strapped to his forearm as temporary protection, was one of the images of the county season.

His replacement will be named in due course, according to the county.

Head coach Glen Chapple said: "We fully support his decision to stand down as captain of the club. It’s a very brave and selfless one for him to make and I believe having him solely focused on scoring runs for Lancashire will be for the good of the team.

"Being a 24 year-old captain at a big club like Lancashire is not easy and he showed a huge amount of character in leading the side last year, despite the disappointment of the injury he picked up half way through the season and his fluctuating form.

"Liam’s qualities as a captain are not in question and we both agree that Liam needs to be performing at his best for the team to be successful in 2019. We would welcome Liam back as captain of the club should the opportunity present itself at any time in the future."

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