England hopeful Liam Livingstone has not broken finger in T20 World Cup scare

England hope Liam Livingstone will not join the growing list of players on the sidelines with a broken finger ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup.

The all-rounder has stood in for Ben Stokes as the 30-year-old takes a sabbatical from cricket to focus on his mental health.

Livingstone injured his finger when he dropped a catch in the closing stages of the six-wicket warm-up loss to India at Dubai’s ICC academy ground.

Rishabh Pant hooked a deep ball when India were chasing a score of 41 from 30 balls, and the Lancashire star fumbled the chance to claim a wicket with his left hand in visible pain.

The ECB stated the injury will be assessed as soon as the swelling has been reduced.

A fracture would threaten Livingstone’s participation at the World Cup – but Moeen Ali gave a promising update on his colleague’s health.

“Hopefully it’s just a bit of bruising and it’s not too bad,” Moeen said.

“Obviously it was a bit scary at the time but he said it was fine so let’s hope it’s good.”

Livingstone could be a key player for England after he displayed his quality with a 42-ball hundred – a national record – in a one-day international win against Pakistan.

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He impressed again on Monday, striking 30 from 20 balls before bowling India captain Virat Kohli in one of his two solid overs as the sixth option for the bowling attack.

The match against India was less a chance to prepare for a potential opponent in the upcoming tournament, and more to simply get players up to speed in terms of the calibre of opponent and the scenarios that may emerge in the UAE over the next few weeks.

England take on New Zealand on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s opener versus West Indies – a repeat of the 2016 final.

Against India, England struggled to get going without Eoin Morgan. The top order failed to hit a single boundary in their first 13 overs and bowlers could not get going as India romped to 188-5, although it was particularly difficult conditions for spin bowlers Adil Rashid and Moeen to find their rhythm.

Moeen impressed late in the India innings as his bowling threw them off, and the 34-year-old also scored an unbeaten 43 at the bat.

Ali had struck a pair of sixes off successive deliveries from Bhuveneshwar Kumar after Jonny Bairstow had been eliminated at 49 by Jasprit Bumrah.

“My role can change a bit but the great thing is I feel I can fit in with anything that's required,” Moeen added.

India got off to an incredibly fast start when they opened their innings, with KL Rahul scoring 50 from just 23 balls – including three sixes – but he departed immediately after when Moeen made a smart catch from a Mark Wood delivery.

India’s other opener Ishan Kishan continued the productive start, as he scored 70 runs – which made Chris Woakes’ drop early in the innings, when India were on just 13 runs, sting.

Kishan made England pay when he found momentum after the drinks break, launching Rashid for two massive sixes in three deliveries, the second of which brought up his own half-century.

He retired soon after, and Livingstone left the field to have his injury assessed by England’s medics around the same time.

Livingstone’s injury became the central concern for England as Pant secured the result with a devastating final six from a Chris Jordan delivery.

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