Liam Livingstone has been named Lancashire Lightning's captain for the 2023 Vitality Blast.

The all-rounder from Barrow returned from the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the weekend – where he has been playing for Punjab Kings XI – and will return to the Lightning side as skipper for the opening home fixture in the North Group against Leicestershire Foxes on Thursday, May 25.

The 29-year-old has previous experience in the captaincy role as he led Lancashire Cricket in all three formats during the 2018 season and will take over the reins for this year's Vitality Blast whilst Club Captain Keaton Jennings continues his recovery from a hamstring injury suffered last month.

Speaking about being named captain, Livingstone said: "I love playing for Lancashire and I was already really excited to get back to Emirates Old Trafford with the opportunity to be available for the majority of this summer's Blast.

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"To now be able to lead the team, is going to be really special for me.

"Obviously, it is something I have done before in 2018 but I feel like I have changed so much as both a person and a player in those five years, and feel ready to step into the role again with much more experience this time around.

"We got off to a great start with a win over Derbyshire at Edgbaston on Saturday and we feel like we have unfinished business in this competition after finishing as runners-up last year.

"On paper, we have one of the strongest squads and we are determined to try and go one better this summer."

Lancashire Head Coach, Glen Chapple, also commented: "It is great to welcome Liam back into the group and we are really pleased that he has accepted our offer to captain the side in this year's Vitality Blast.

"Following Keaton’s unfortunate hamstring injury last month, handing Liam the reigns for this summer's Blast gives us some consistency and allows Keaton to focus fully on his recovery.

"Liam is now a hugely experienced cricketer both on the international stage and in various leagues around the world and we believe he will bring a lot to the role this summer."