Key events
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to a game that could be anything from a crackling dénouement to a damp squib. One thing it definitely won’t be is a dead rubber, largely thanks to Liam Livingstone.
He was England’s matchwinner on Friday with 87, he’s the leading run-scorer in the series on either side with 124, and he’s also the joint leading wicket-taker with five. His batting average for the series is 62 and his bowling average is 7.60. He’s been Ben Stokes on steroids. And he has kept an experimental England side in a series that they could easily have lost already.
Today, on his home ground, Livingstone will probably be out first ball and take none for plenty – if he gets on the field at all. The weather forecast, even by Manchester’s high standards, is atrocious. In every hour from 2pm to 7, the chance of rain (according to the BBC) is at least 60 per cent. The first hour, as Rod Stewart so nearly sang, is the driest.
We could end up with a five-over thrash or nothing at all. Still, this is the OBO, where the result is always win-win: either we get some cricket or we settle for some cricket chat.
The toss is at 2pm, in theory, and I hope to be back soon after that with the teams.
