Liam Livingstone is eyeing “genuine all-rounder” status and does not have to look far for inspiration after admitting he feels galvanised by Andrew Flintoff linking up with England.

Flintoff, whose displays with bat and ball in the seminal 2005 Ashes triumph saw him become a national treasure, was back in the public eye on Friday for the first time since being hospitalised with facial injuries and broken ribs after his Top Gear crash last December.

He has unofficially joined England’s backroom team in an unpaid capacity for four ODIs against New Zealand this month, conducting fielding drills ahead of the Black Caps’ eight-wicket win in Cardiff.

The 45-year-old was also seen on the home dressing room balcony wearing a bucket hat popularised by England’s Test side during this summer’s Ashes, and his sheer presences greatly enthuses Livingstone.

The pair played together in two T20s for Lancashire’s Second XI during Flintoff’s short-lived comeback in 2014 and the wisdom he can pass on is something Livingstone wants to tap into in the next week.

“It’s incredible to have him,” Livingstone said. “He’s obviously been one of my heroes growing up. To have someone of his experience lingering around the dressing room is great for all the lads.

“When you see someone like Fred around, it’s always good to chat. Especially while you’re batting: there’s three and a half hours to pick the brains of someone who’s been there and done it.

“He’s probably a national hero, everybody loves that Fred’s joining us and I’m sure he’ll enjoy it as much himself. Over the next week or so, I’m sure he’ll have plenty of laughs inside there.”

Flintoff is not expected to continue with England beyond a series which is a dress rehearsal for the defence of their World Cup crown, with the teams kicking off the tournament in Ahmedabad on October 5.

New Zealand laid down an early marker in the Welsh capital but England decided not to risk Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood because of varying niggles while Moeen Ali and Sam Curran were rested.

Compounding matters was premier leg-spinner Adil Rashid struggling with cramp after bowling three overs, which allowed unbeaten centurions Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell to settle into their stride.

Rashid’s absence increased the workload of Livingstone, who followed up a cameo 52 off 40 balls by conceding just 13 runs from four overs before seeing a tough chance off Mitchell go down in his fifth.

Livingstone finished with unflattering figures of 7.4-0-47-0 but is seeking more involvement with the ball, having recently decided to make a technical tweak to his mix-and-match spin.

“I feel like I work on my bowling to become a genuine all-rounder,” the 30-year-old said. “It doesn’t come as naturally to me as batting does but it was nice that the first few overs came out really well.

“I’ve changed a few things with my bowling, it sounds weird but I’m in more of a development phase. I only made the change about three weeks ago so hopefully I’ll keep getting better and better.

“It’s a technical thing I’ve been working on to try and get a bit more shape on the ball, to ultimately try and get more wickets and become a bigger threat.”

Having greater prominence with the ball as well as bat enhances his hopes of a starting berth at the World Cup, as well as staving off the threat of Harry Brook, looking to gatecrash the provisional squad.

Livingstone felt his outing on Friday was a “big stepping stone” after a diet of T20s and The Hundred matches since a long ankle injury lay-off last winter although he was spotted holding his back, which puts his involvement in the second ODI at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Sunday in doubt.

“I don’t know what it is, to be honest,” Livingstone added. “I was worried that it was my side at first, but I wouldn’t have been able to bowl again if it was.

“I’ve tried to play as much cricket as I can – I’ve not always been at full fitness – and I feel like I’m finally getting back to my best, and hopefully these games will help me get closer to that.

“I’m just enjoying being back playing. Whatever happens in India happens in India and to wake up every morning and to be able to put an England shirt on is pretty special. It would be stupid of me to look past that.”

Ben Stokes marked his ODI return with a resolute fifty as England started the first of four World Cup warm-ups against New Zealand by posting 291 for six at a sultry Sophia Gardens.

Stokes is back in tow as a specialist batter after reversing his 50-over retirement last month ahead of England’s defence of their World Cup crown in India and got back into the groove with 52 off 69 balls.

It was not his most fluent effort but was one of four fifty-plus scores on a tricky pitch after the hosts were asked to bat first, with Dawid Malan contributing 54 off 53 balls before Jos Buttler top-scored with 72 off 68 deliveries.

Liam Livingstone added some impetus with a sparky 52 from 40 balls at the back end of an innings in which left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra finished with career-best international figures of three for 48.

The knocks of Malan and Livingstone are timely given their places in England’s provisional World Cup squad are thought to be the most vulnerable as Harry Brook makes a late case for selection.

Brook had an opportunity to push his claims after being shunted to open alongside Malan, with England cautious over Jonny Bairstow’s shoulder niggle sustained in the drawn T20 series and Jason Roy waking up on Friday morning with a back spasm that precluded his involvement.

It was his first time opening the batting in List A cricket and he tickled the first ball off his thigh to the boundary but it was Malan who stamped his authority on the union from then on, capitalising on wide or overpitched deliveries to the tune of six fours in the space of 18 deliveries at one point.

Malan was adept on the pull as New Zealand’s quicks dragged back their lengths, dispatching Kyle Jamieson then Lockie Ferguson to bring up a 48-ball half-century – his eighth fifty-plus score in 19 ODI innings.

He was unable to kick on, though, as Ravindra halted England in their tracks after an 80-run opening stand. The slow left-armer was already appealing when Malan missed a clip off his pads and only belatedly noticed the ball spin back and thud into off-stump.

Brook then departed in the next over for a pedestrian 25 off 41 balls as a brute of a bouncer from Ferguson brushed his glove on the way through to New Zealand captain Tom Latham.

Matters might have worsened for England as another sharply rising delivery caught Stokes out first up although the ball ballooned agonisingly over Glenn Phillips at gully.

Joe Root scratched his way to six off 15 balls but top-edged a slog sweep to Daryl Mitchell in the ring to give Ravindra his second wicket.

He conceded just eight runs in four overs before Buttler displayed a rare show of aggression by clattering the spinner over the shorter straight boundary for six.

With bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes at seven, Stokes and Buttler settled for watchful accumulation over outright might.

Buttler was busier and the pair both went to their fifties. But the ball after heaving Ravindra into the stands for his first six to go with three fours, Stokes clubbed to cover to end an 88-run stand.

Ravindra was taken the distance by Buttler while Livingstone upped the ante with three successive sixes off the expensive Jamieson.

Either side of two slower balls being shovelled over the leg-side boundary, Livingstone bludgeoned a pace-on delivery back over Jamieson’s head.

Livingstone and Buttler both miscued Tim Southee slower balls up in the air to end England’s hopes of a 300-plus total but David Willey’s 21 not out off 11 balls got them close.

A one-man batting show from Jonny Bairstow was not enough for England as New Zealand sealed a six-wicket win at Trent Bridge to level the T20 series 2-2.

England captain Jos Buttler rested himself for the decider and would have been happy with what he saw as Bairstow smashed 73 from 41 balls at the top of the order, with six sixes and five fours to his name.

That conjured memories of his match-winning Test century against the same opponents at the same ground last summer, but after he holed out in the 12th over England ran out of steam as they slowed to 175 for eight.

Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone both made 26 but neither were fully fluent as the Black Caps reasserted control with their spin contingent, who shared six wickets.

Meanwhile Harry Brook, whose hopes of forcing his way into England’s World Cup squad puts both Malan and Livingstone at some risk, could only manage four.

After finishing the England innings with five for 38 in the last five overs, New Zealand came out firing and made a confident pursuit to complete their comeback from 2-0 down with Buttler making an unexpected substitute’s outing behind the stumps after Bairstow reported a niggle.

Tim Seifert (48), Glenn Phillips (42) and Mark Chapman (40no) combined to take down England, who could not keep a check on the boundary count.

The pick of the home side’s bowling attack was 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed, making his debut on home soil after his rapid rise over the winter.

He was sharp and economical with two for 27 in his four-over allocation and also completed a run out, a timely reminder of his promise almost six months since his last England appearance.

The real business is now set to begin, with a ODI series starting in Cardiff on Friday in what represents a final warm-up for next month’s World Cup in India.

But England, whose evening ended with 16 balls unbowled as Luke Wood mis-fielded to gift the winning runs, will need to sharpen up.

England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick acknowledges World Cup selection is causing anxiety amongst the squad but has backed Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone to come good.

Malan and Livingstone struggled during Sunday’s emphatic 74-run defeat to New Zealand at Edgbaston, which kept the four-match T20 series finely poised at 2-1 to the world champions ahead of Tuesday’s finale in Nottingham.

While Malan and Livingstone were both named in last month’s preliminary squad for the 50-over World Cup, Harry Brook remains the elephant in the room after Ben Stokes’ decision to reverse his ODI retirement saw Brook left out.

Brook has responded in scintillating fashion and even white-ball captain Jos Buttler admitted there is a “long time” left with England not forced to nail down their final 15-man squad until September 28.

Trescothick admitted: “When there is that element and the noise from outside the changing room is going on, of course you start to question (things) sometimes, especially if you are not playing well, but you deal with these anxieties and problems on many occasions.

“It is up to the individuals, with our help as coaches, to get the best out of them and to get them in the right frame of mind. That’s all you try and do, right?

“You can only keep going into the middle, keep going into the nets and doing the right things because eventually it falls back into place.

“These are challenging times and we know that. Selection always brings that little something but it is about pushing and to keep giving them that opportunity.

“That is what we will do from our point of view, support them as much as we can and give them every opportunity then leave the rest for either them to score runs or the selectors to do what they want to do after that.”

If Brook is to force his way into England’s World Cup squad and final XI, Malan and Livingstone are heading up the list of vulnerable parties.

Malan contributed an 11-ball innings of two in Birmingham after a four-ball duck at Old Trafford and while he scored 54 in the series opener, the 36-year-old was dropped by Trent Rockets in last month’s Hundred to highlight his lack of fluency.

But Trescothick insisted: “We have been working at various times in the nets and opportunities when we do, talking about the fundamentals of what he does when he plays well and what he gets right.

“We won’t change that practice in what we’re trying to achieve, but it takes a bit of time.

“You know when you are going from not having batted much for the period the players have been in The Hundred, they need an innings, they need a score.

“Sometimes it is a journey, sometimes it is quickly but we will keep doing the same stuff and eventually it will click back into place. There is no doubt about it.”

Trescothick is equally convinced about Livingstone despite a lean spell with the bat with a top score of 28 in The Hundred, while he has not passed fifty for England since last July against Netherlands.

“Before we know it, he will be back and playing a major part,” England’s assistant coach said of Livingstone, who took one wicket for 55 on Sunday.

“He has played a decent amount of games, but he wouldn’t have batted a massive amount, so you still need that rhythm, timing and volume of balls you face. That’s what we will try between now and going into the World Cup to obviously get that volume up.

“The package Liam brings, the all-round cricketer we know he is and what we’ve seen in the past, let’s just give him that little bit of time.

“We know what he can do. He can win you the game with the ball or win you the game in the field, or with the bat so let’s let it happen.”