Tymal Mills eager to make most of England recall

LONDON, Oct 19 (Agencies): Twenty20 cricket has given a platform for many players to carve out successful careers but few owe as much to the format as England fast bowler Tymal Mills.

Without the 20-overs-per-side game, the 29-year-old left-arm quick might already be well into his retirement after numerous and serious injury problems.

Prior to the advent of T20 cricket, a congenital back condition would probably have ended Mills' career.

But bowlers in cricket's shortest international format are restricted to a maximum of four overs, meaning they do not have to put their bodies through the strain of a 10-over spell in 50-over cricket, let alone face the demands of the first-class game.

Mills played his last first-class match at the age of 22, forgoing the chance of a Test cap, switching his focus to T20 cricket.

But even then things were far from straightforward. Last year he suffered a stress fracture that meant he had to wear a back brace for three months and this year a hamstring injury cut short his Indian Premier League stint.

Yet English domestic cricket's inaugural Hundred competition -- an even briefer format than T20 -- allowed him to showcase his skills this season.

Meanwhile, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone suffered a finger injury in Monday's warm-up match against India ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup, raising doubts over his availability for their opening game this weekend. Livingstone left the field with the little finger on his left hand swollen after he dropped a catch at deep midwicket during England's seven-wicket defeat by India.

Livingstone was named in coach Chris Silverwood's squad for the World Cup as a replacement for Ben Stokes, who had taken an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health while also recovering from a second operation on a broken finger.