Barrovian Liam Livingstone believes one of the most dramatic English cricketing summers in living memory has made a big impact when it comes to drumming up interest in the sport in this country.

The summer produced two of the all-time great matches involving England, who became Cricket World Cup champions for the first time ever in July after defeating New Zealand on the amount of boundaries struck, after a tied match ended level again after a super over at Lord’s.

The following month, Ben Stokes produced an innings for the ages to give England an astonishing one-wicket victory over Australia in the third Ashes Test, following a record run-chase at Headingley.

These two matches, among others, did wonders to attract crowds to the domestic game, especially in the Vitality Blast, in which Livingstone helped Lancashire reach the quarter finals.

Livingstone said: “We used to get 6-7,000 for our T20 games, apart from the Yorkshire game and we ended up getting 14-15,000, breaking our record three weeks in a row, which is great for us.

“It only takes something like that for the sport to go through the roof and we’ve a lot of thank yous to say to Ben Stokes for that and I’m sure the sport of cricket, hopefully in the next few years, can keep on rising.”

Stokes, who learned his cricket at Cockermouth, was unquestionably the star of the summer for England after producing starring roles in its two biggest moments.

The 28-year-old made an heroic 84 not out in the World Cup final to haul England back into contention after New Zealand’s bowlers put the squeeze on the tournament hosts, before striking another eight runs in the super over.

But it was his amazing unbeaten 135 against the Aussies that made him even more of a national hero and a strong favourite for this year’s Sports Personality of the Year prize.

Livingstone believes staying grounded has been a key to Stokes’ success, saying: “I think you get found out pretty quickly if you don’t.

“Ben is a lovely guy - I spent two months with him in India [with Rajasthan Royals] and it can be quite a lonely place at times and you tend to stick around with the overseas boys and he was great for me.

“He always had time to talk, help me out with my own game and it’s obviously great to be seeing him do so well, especially under the big pressure moments.

“They’re obviously the hardest moments in sport, where talent goes out the window and it all goes to how much you want it and to see him thrive in those moments is great as a cricket fan, but also knowing Ben as someone from Cumbria, it’s a proud moment for us.”