The England international, who played his formative cricket for Barrow C.C. and Cumbria, was announced as Moeen Ali’s replacement as captain for the Midlands franchise back in March.

Speaking at the time of the announcement, he said: “I am absolutely delighted to be named as captain this year. Moeen has done a brilliant job and I hope to carry on where he left off to take this team forward”.

“We’ll be doing all we can to bring that trophy home to Birmingham for the first time this summer and entertain our fans with some exciting cricket,” he said.

Livingstone’s team will begin their campaign on Friday night (August 8) under the lights at their home ground, Edgbaston, against David Willey’s Nottingham-based Trent Rockets.  

The Barrovian is accompanied in the Birmingham Phoenix squad by fellow England international superstars Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett.

The New Zealand fast bowling trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Adam Milne bring experience and pace to the Edgbaston-based team.

Livingstone, a batting all-rounder, has played for the Birmingham Phoenix every season since the tournament began back in 2021.

He’s also the Birmingham Phoenix’s leading run scorer with 755 runs and has the most sixes in The Hundred’s history, with 52.

The tournament in general, however, has caused controversy yet again of late, after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced in 2024 that they were open to investment for stakes in the eight franchises from private sources for the first time.

Furthermore, last week, it was announced that the sales of stakes in six out of the eight franchises had indeed been completed.

Indian and American investors such as The Sun Group and Tech Titans were among those who bought stakes in the Northern Superchargers and London Spirit, respectively.

These investors, however, will not be involved in running the franchises until October 1, meaning this year’s edition of the tournament will be unaffected.

Liam Livingstone, who captained England for the first time in November 2024, will hope his team can do one better than they did last year and reach the final of the tournament for the second time in their history.

The Hundred starts tonight, as London Spirit take on the Oval Invincibles at Lord’s.