Five-time Ashes winner Ian Bell is predicting Lancashire’s hard-hitting batsman Liam Livingstone to be an England international in the making after watching the 23-year-old’s exploits in the county game.

Bell, who has amassed 118 Test caps for England, knows a thing or two about what it takes to sparkle at the highest level and is convinced Livingstone has all of the raw ingredients to make it.

His 50.93 average in the 2016 County Championship was enough to top the Lancashire tables, above even Red Rose teammate and England newboy Haseeb Hameed (49.91), who earned a Test call-up to India last winter.

Livingstone hit two hundreds in the season, taking his first-class tally to four, also becoming the first England Lions player to score back-to-back centuries in the same game since Kevin Pietersen when doing so on the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.

And Bell admits he has been impressed with the uncomplicated approach to batting Livingstone has displayed to-date in his fledgling career.  

“I like the look of him,” said Bell. “I like that he is quite a feisty player.

“From what I’ve seen of him at Lancashire then he is quite aggressive when he fields and bats – I think that’s a good sign. He doesn’t back down.

“From the bits I have seen of him I was impressed and then he was leading run scorer for the Lions this winter out in Sri Lanka, which suggests he is a good player of spin.

“They are challenging conditions for any young English player to go to, so to do well out there is a good sign.”

England’s one-day batting ranks are presently well stocked, with the likes of Jonny Bairstow likely to play only a supporting role in the ICC Champions Trophy and Ben Duckett out of the squad all-together.

Next month’s tournament may have come a little too early for Livingstone but Bell thinks it won’t be too long until the Lancashire man is playing for England. 

“He’s another one who just has to keep knocking on the door as much as possible domestically and for the Lions,” added Bell.

“So that when that opportunity comes – whether it is injury or lack of form – you take it with both hands.

“English cricket has been like that before, in that place where you’ve got good players who are knocking on the door but not getting in, that’s when we look like things are in a good place.

“And in white-ball cricket at the minute we’ve got a lot of players knocking on the door.”

The ICC Champions Trophy 1-18 June will see the best eight ODI teams in the world play in Birmingham, Cardiff and London. Tickets available at icc-cricket.com/tickets