ASHLEY Giles would love to see Liam Livingstone hit the winning runs in Saturday’s NatWest T20 Blast final.

The Lightning will take part in their sixth Finals Day at Edgbaston this weekend, with their match against Hampshire first up in the second semi-final at 2.30pm.

And powerful batsman Livingstone will be involved having overcome a difficult fortnight which saw him suffer a nasty facial injury during a night out in Ashford, Kent.

The Lancashire squad were celebrating their last gasp quarter-final win over Kent at Canterbury a couple of Saturdays ago in a bar near their hotel when Livingstone was the victim of a bar-room incident.

The 22-year-old had a pint glass jammed into his face following an accidental collision with a fellow reveller.

He suffered a series of nasty cuts around his left eye, forcing him out of two Royal London one-day Cup matches against Hampshire and Glamorgan last week.

He has since had his stitches removed and is fit to take his place in Lancashire’s line-up, something which has delighted Giles, who was present when the incident took place.

“Liam will be fine for Saturday. He has had his stitches out,” confirmed the county’s cricket director and head coach.

“He has done incredibly well. For his age, I think he has handled this experience incredibly well because it could have had a really nasty affect on him, physically and mentally. He has been great.

“And what a great story that will be if he plays a big part on Saturday and runs off with his arms aloft having hit the winning runs.”

Earlier this week, Livingstone signed a new two-year contract to stay at Emirates Old Trafford alongside fellow Cumbrian Jordan Clark and Arron Lilley, who has signed a deal for three years.

“They have all made strides this year, and we need to put together a nucleus for a squad that will take this team forward for the next 10 years, “ added Giles.

“If we are sure about people, we show our faith in them and they can then go out with freedom and self confidence.”

While Livingstone has impressed in patches this season, most notably scoring a memorable 91 in an RL50 match against Kent earlier this month, he has yet to fire in T20.

He has played all 14 Blast matches this term with a top-score of 27.