WE WON'T PLAY BLAME GAME

Livingstone says England’s changing of the guard is not an excuse for failure... and vows to hit the Aussies hard

- GARY FITZGERALD

LIAM LIVINGSTONE is adamant England's new T20 era will not be used as an excuse for losing games.

And the Lancashire star insists the big challenge for a young team which got its backside smacked by the Aussies in Southampton is to "quickly get up to speed" in international cricket.

Livingstone was England's stand-out performer with bat and ball, top-scoring with 37 and taking three wickets during the 28-run loss in the opening T20 clash.

It was a disappointing start for a much-changed team which has ditched some of the World Cup winners such as Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow for the youth and potential of players like Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox and Jamie Overton.

Livingstone remains confident they can still win the series with two more games remaining - tonight in Cardiff and then to Manchester on Sunday.