Livingstone has been in excellent form with bat and ball for Team Abu Dhabi so far, with only Rovman Powell (294) scoring more runs than the England all-rounder (259).
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Team Abu Dhabi captain Liam Livingstone has hailed the Abu Dhabi T10 as the sport’s “most instinctive format” and believes that it can aid other forms of cricket. Livingstone has been in excellent form with bat and ball for Team Abu Dhabi so far, with only Rovman Powell (294) scoring more runs than the England all-rounder (259), who has bludgeoned a league-high 28 sixes across his nine innings with the bat. He has also contributed seven wickets with the ball as Team Abu Dhabi top the table after their first nine matches and Livingstone is enjoying his first taste of the tournament.
“It’s definitely the most instinctive format of the game,” he explained, according to a press release. “You can plan all you want but you don’t know what’s coming and I guess that’s the good thing about this format, it’s really enjoyable to play in. It’s pretty cool that people are getting behind it and there’s definitely a massive future for it in the game. I think T10 cricket is going to actually improve T20 cricket and make that a little more exciting. We’re seeing teams getting 130-140 for two or three in this format and if you start taking that into T20 cricket, we’re going to start seeing a lot of 200-220 plus scores.”
Team Abu Dhabi have already secured their top-four spot that guarantees them a place in the knockouts and victory over Delhi Bulls on Thursday would seal the first position. That would give them a chance to head straight to the final when the first meets the second in the first eliminator on Friday. Livingstone is confident that Team Abu Dhabi can go all the way as they go in search of a maiden Abu Dhabi T10 title.
“I think we’ve played some exciting cricket,” he added. “We haven’t always got it right and you’re not always going to get it right in T10 cricket but I think the way that we’ve played – we’ve tried to go out there and take as many wickets as we can and hit as many sixes as we can – is ultimately entertainment and I think it’s also the best way to win games.
“We’ve put together a really strong squad and we knew we’d have a good chance of winning the tournament but it’s T10 cricket and anyone can beat anybody on their day. We’re going to have to be lucky, we’re going to have to be brave and we’re going to have to keep playing some really good cricket like we have been.”
Team Abu Dhabi registered their sixth victory in the Abu Dhabi T10 after defeating The Chennai Braves by 7 wickets on Sunday. After The Chennai Braves scored 107/6 in their 10 overs, Philip Salt’s innings of 63 runs from 20 balls helped Team Abu Dhabi chase their total down in just 7 overs.
Salt started off in typical fashion, smashing Nuwan Pradeep for three boundaries and a six in the first over. However, Mark Deyal put pressure on Team Abu Dhabi by picking up the wickets of Paul Stirling and Liam Livingstone in the very next over.
Team Abu Dhabi quickly regained control of the match when Chris Gayle struck a six and a four off Curtis Campher’s bowling in the third over. Thereafter, Salt and Gayle put on a explosive stand of 71 runs and put Team Abu Dhabi in the driver’s seat. Curtis Campher dismissed Philip Salt in the seventh over, but Colin Ingram wrapped up the chase with a six and four in the same over.
