In the stands for England’s 2010 triumph, the opener is now an integral part of their World Cup defense 14 years on
Andrew Miller
Fourteen years ago in May 2010, Phil Salt was a child in the stands at Kensington Oval in Barbados, watching England cricketers parade their first piece of world silverware after beating Australia in the World Cup final T20 that year. Now he is back as an England star in his own right, looking to kick-start his side’s defense of the same trophy at the same venue when they take on Scotland in Bridgetown on Tuesday morning.
By his own admission, Salt’s is not a homecoming to rival that of Jofra Archer or Chris Jordan, the two born-and-bred Bajans in England’s expected starting line-up. Even so, having spent six formative years in Barbados – nurturing his love of cricket from the age of nine to 15 while his father Chris worked as a property developer – he acknowledges it is a remarkable development.
“To be back here and have the chance to play for England at a World Cup is not something I ever thought I would do, but it’s certainly very special,” Salt said. “Everything about the place suits me. Very relaxed, a lot of cricket, a lot of sport, I still have a lot of friends on the island. I don’t think there are too many people who would disagree that life in Barbados is a touch, but yes, I loved it.”
Salt played a minor role in England’s T20 World Cup win in Australia two years ago. After coming into the starting line-up as a replacement for the injured Dawid Malan, he did not bat in the semi-final against India as Jos Buttler and Alex Hales cruised to a ten-wicket win and then made 10 off 9 balls at No. 3 in the final low score against Pakistan.
Now, however, is very much his moment. Six months ago, he nailed his audition to become Buttler’s regular opening partner with back-to-back centuries against the West Indies in Grenada and Trinidad, and then ran into a crucial turning point in Kolkata Knight Riders’ recent IPL triumph, with 290 runs from 144 balls in five innings, including 89 not out from 47 balls against Lucknow Super Giants.
Salt has always had the ability to start an innings strong – two years ago, he made his T20I debut (coincidentally, also at Bridgetown) with 57 off 24 balls. And yet, he acknowledges that his game has risen to a new level in recent months, to the extent that he enters this tournament as one of the most dangerous batters on the scene.
“It was a combination of things,” he said. “The opportunity to get more experience in international cricket was definitely the biggest part of it in my mind. I also have a look at where I’m strong, where I’m not, I’ve used the analysis, I’ve learned from the coaches, to make those moves in my game .
“I can’t put my finger on anything, but maybe it’s a change of mindset, that I want to be the person who wins more games for England. You like to think [that people fear you] as an opening stroke, but the moment you recognize that and start thinking, “I’m the big guy that I am,” the game will always bite you. I try not to think about that and take it one ball at a time.”
Another key aspect of his development, he says, was the opportunity to bat alongside his England captain in the Hundred – an alliance that was instrumental in Manchester Originals reaching the final for two consecutive years. In 2022, Salt’s tally of 353 runs in ten innings was second only to Malan (377), while his tally of 232 the following year may have been visited by Buttler’s haul of 391, but they came at an impressive strike rate 194.95.
The pair repeated their feats in an opening stand of 82 in 6.2 overs against Pakistan at The Oval on Thursday – England’s final warm-up ahead of their clash with Scotland. Although Salt admitted their partnership took some time to click, he felt the dynamic was now similar to the one he had enjoyed at the Vitality Blast with his former Sussex captain, and now England selector, Luke Wright.
“[Luke] he liked to get some balls. So my role at the time was just to walk us through a brochure,” Salt said.
“We have different styles. In my career I’ve always been the attacker and I guess I’m the aggressor at the start of this partnership. I feel like we both showcased that very well at The Oval the other night. I didn’t take a flier, but I kind of we hung out and then Josh went and then we got along beautifully.
“It’s good because we both communicate a lot out there and we realize that when one goes, we feed the strike to the other person, so there’s no ego about it. It’s whoever goes first. We just communicate and it sounds very simple, but I’ve hit with a lot of people and it’s not always like that, so it’s nice when you have that relationship with your partner.”
Whether this is a partnership that can take England to their third T20 World Cup title remains to be seen. But, fortunately for Salt, when they won the first of these in 2010, it was once again the inaugural partnership that laid the foundations for everything that followed. As the impressive young man in the stands well remembers.
“Craig Kieswetter was definitely one [role-model]” said Salt, recalling Somerset’s first innings burst into Michael Lamb’s side after the pair were rushed together on the eve of the tournament and contributed to a match-winning half-century in the final.
“He was a bit of an unknown at the time and then he came out and I was in awe of him. I thought he was brilliant, he took some incredible catches and the way he played, he was definitely someone I tried to model at the time I was watching a lot of good cricket People like Chris Gayle … when I was a kid, anyone who hit the ball hard I watched them on YouTube and I was just trying. imitate them.”
And although he played down any similarities between the 2010 class and the team currently ahead of him, Solt recalled the highlight of his day in that inaugural final. If he can emulate it this time, he will have truly fulfilled his childhood dream.
“Collie [Paul Collingwood] he walked past this stand here – Hall and Griffiths where I was sitting upstairs watching the final – with the trophy and said, ‘here, touch it as much as you can’. So I got a note from the trophy that day. That’s the thing that always sticks with me when I think about that day.”
Andrew Miller is ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor. @miller_cricket