ASHES winner Ashley Giles has added his voice to those suggesting Barrow batting star Liam Livingstone is ready for an international call-up.

The former England spinner – who handed Livingstone his first-class debut for Lancashire last year – believes the 23-year-old has what it takes to be both a limited-overs and Test player for his country.

Giles is confident Livingstone – who captained Lancashire for the first time last week in their County Championship draw at the Oval against Surrey, and who is doing so again at Old Trafford against Somerset this week – is more than capable of making the step up.

Now with Warwickshire, 44-year-old Giles, who played 54 Tests for England between 1998 and 2006, has seen Livingstone impress for Lancashire last season, and for the England Lions in Sri Lanka this winter, scoring four hundreds in all.

The Barrow Cricket Club youth product is being tipped to make his full England debut during next month’s two-match One-Day International series against Ireland – only a year after his first-class bow and two after his limited-overs debut for Lancashire.

Giles thinks that is well within Livingstone's capabilities, and told the ECB website: “Like Haseeb Hameed (who made his England test debut last year), there’s always some surprise at a player’s development when the transition’s that quick.

“But I think we all knew, myself, Glen Chapple (the new Lancashire coach, who took over from Giles in the winter) and Mark Chilton (the ex-Lancashire player), that he had some really good raw ability.

“He hits the ball harder than almost anyone I’ve seen. He’s a modern 360 scorer. But, apart from that, he has a really good cricket brain.

“There’s a danger with people who play in that mould that others can think they are just dumb hitters. He’s certainly not that.

“I think he showed when he moved into four-day cricket he could pace an innings and play to circumstances and conditions.

“He’s mature in the sense that he took to it quickly, even going to stand at first slip and being prepared to offer Steven Croft (the Lancashire skipper, whose absence through injury promoted Livingstone to the leadership role against Surrey) advice. That takes a lot of maturity and guts.

“I remember a conversation at Somerset last year after day one and we’d already got a lot on the board. But he hadn’t batted, and I said to him ‘You’ve still got a job to do’.

“He could have gone in, batting with the tail and tried to smash it, but good players still get hundreds from number seven. That’s exactly what he did. It was his first hundred.

“He’s a real talent, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he plays for England, and does well, this year.

“He loves the big stage. He’ll have his ups and downs, I’m sure, particularly because of the way he plays. He likes to take the aggressive option, which is great, and you shouldn’t limit that.

“But, when you play for England, there will be a lot more attention if he gets it wrong.”

Although Livingstone’s initial international opportunity looks set to come in one-day cricket, Giles also believes he could break into England’s Test team in the near future.

He added: “The England Test line-up is probably going through a period of change, and it’s up for grabs. But he’s going to have to stack up performances.

“Each format he’s gone into, he’s adapted. When he first came into T20 cricket at the top of the order, he didn’t quite get it right. But he learnt pretty quickly.

“Fifty-over cricket, he took to almost immediately. Now, he’s flourishing in everything.”