LIAM Livingstone made England Lions cricketing history as he finessed his way to back-to-back centuries in Sri Lanka.

It it not often that Ernest Pass Memorial Ground is thought of as a testing ground for playing on the sub-continent, but the Barrow CC product mastered the conditions against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla.

Adding to his first-innings 105, Lancashire's Livingstone scored an unbeaten 140 – his best first-class knock – in the second, as wickets fell around him and the Lions succumbed to a three-wicket defeat.

His individual feat made him only the second batsman – after Kevin Pietersen – to score a century in each innings of a first-class match in the 35-year history of England B, England A and England Lions cricket.

However, with Ben Foakes – who claimed a Lions record 10 victims across the two innings as wicket-keeper – and captain Keaton Jennings the only other men to pass 20 on a turning fourth-day pitch, the Lions were dismissed for 284. That left Sri Lanka a target of only 90 in the evening session, and the hosts squared the two-match series, despite a flurry of wickets which led to a late scare.

After the match, the 23-year-old Barrovian Tweeted: “Thanks for all the kind messages, it's been a great 4 day series! Now time for some white ball cricket.”

Lions head coach Andy Flower heaped praise on Livingstone, and said: “As a Lions performance, it was a valuable experience for all of us – and there were some outstanding performances in the game, and the primary examples of that were Ben Foakes, mainly with his wicketkeeping, and Liam Livingstone.

“Livingstone (was a stand out) in both innings. I really enjoyed watching both innings, and one of the most enjoyable things was he looks like he’s growing quite quickly as a player.

“Some of the things he’s been working on in the training camps seem to have come to the fore in his play of spin. It was a really great performance on a typical sub-continental wicket – dusty, turned a bit, skidded a bit, he had to bat for long periods against spinners operating from both ends, where the slightest mistake could mean you’re out. He showed the tactics and the skill to manage that.

“The experience of playing on a turning track, and coming out on top with 140 not out, will give him tremendous confidence. He’ll take that confidence with him now, and that is so important to your chances of doing well. So it’s really significant for him I think.

“We had an England selector, Angus Fraser, here for both of the games as well.”

Livingstone and Foakes put on a 107-run stand for the fifth wicket in the morning, with the South Cumbrian ace going on to reach his century from 156 balls with his 11th four.

Livingstone's feats in the match – in which he batted for 454 minutes – mean he doubled his career tally of first-class centuries in a single game, his back-to-back tons emulating Pietersen's efforts for England A against South Zone in India in 2004.

He ended the series with 320 runs at an average of 106.67 – with Tom Westley, who scored 192 in the two matches, the next best among the Lions.

During the second Test, he also passed the 1,000-run mark in first-class cricket, having only played his first match at that level for Lancashire in the County Championship in April last year. His 1,145 runs in 18 matches across that span have come at an average of 54.52.

Livingstone will remain with the Lions in Sri Lanka for a five-match one-day series, starting in Dambulla on Friday. He will then go to the United Arab Emirates to take part in the North v South series.