BARROW’S Liam Livingstone missed out on Tuesday as the first game of the South African T20 (SA20) League got underway.

Livingstone was acquired before the season by the star-studded MI Cape Town, the South African franchise belonging to the IPL's Mumbai Indians owners.

The Barrovian is still recovering from an injury sustained while playing for England on their recent Test tour of Pakistan and missed out as MI Cape Town opened their campaign with a thumping eight-wicket victory over Paarl Royals at Cape Town’s iconic Newlands Stadium.

Fellow England fast bowlers Jofra Archer, with three wickets, and Olly Stone with two, were the stars with the ball for MI Cape Town, as they blew their opponents away.

England are currently the kings of one-day cricket being the inaugural holders of both the one-day and T20 world titles and it showed at Newlands as England T20 captain Jos Buttler top-scored with 51 from 42 balls for the Royals.

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An astonishing nine per cent of all deliveries that Livingstone has faced in T20 cricket have gone for six, and having recently pulled out of a stint with Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash, MI Cape Town will hope he will soon be back and firing.

A team filled with dynamic batting power and raw pace, Livingstone has been joined in the squad by fellow Englishmen Sam Curran, Olly Stone, and Jofra Archer, as well as captain Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, and South African pace-man Kagiso Rabada.

MI Cape Town’s next game sees them travel to Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Monday, January 16.