Salt seizes chance to shine by driving England to win over Pakistan
Phil Salt went from living in Barbados playing age-group cricket to thundering a Covid-hit England to one-day victory over Pakistan
- England beat Pakistan by 52 runs to grab the series victory at Lords on Saturday
- Phil Salt impressed with 60 from 54 balls, coming in amid a Covid outbreak
- The 24-year-old Welshman was eligible for Barbados but got his England chance
Phil Salt could have been peppering boundaries, Caribbean-style, for West Indies rather than thumping England’s makeshift bunch of one-day reserves to victory over Pakistan.
The Sussex opener, who smashed 60 off 54 balls in Saturday’s series-clinching win at Lord’s, played age-group cricket while spending six years living in Barbados after re-locating from north Wales and qualified for West Indies through citizenship.
But after being sent to school in Surrey by his property developing parents he made his career at Hove before gaining his England chance, at 24, when Eoin Morgan and his first-choice squad were sidelined by an outbreak of Covid.
Phil Salt was the driving force behind England as they grabbed series victory against Pakistan
Salt’s 60 from 54 balls made for a fine replacement after England were struck down with Covid
‘I was eligible for the Barbados Under 19 team but even if I’d been selected I was going to keep playing second team cricket for Sussex,’ said Salt.
‘At the time I felt there was more longevity in England. Right from the start at Sussex I could see a pathway to come through and build myself into the cricketer I wanted to be.’
That pathway led to Salt becoming one of the most destructive Twenty20 hitters in county cricket and he brought that game into the second 50-over victory even though he had been dismissed cheaply attempting a huge strike in the first game at Cardiff.
‘From the moment I came into the England set-up Eoin Morgan was crystal clear we should always look to take the positive option,’ he said.
England completed the series victory with a game to spare against Pakistani on Saturday
‘It’s the blueprint of what has been so successful in 50-over cricket. I’ve got to get the boys off to a flyer and if there’s any width or length I’m looking to jump all over it.’
Now England must decide whether to stick with the side that have twice beaten Pakistan convincingly for the final match at Edgbaston tomorrow or give chances to the seven other squad members plucked out of county cricket to rescue the series.
‘Whoever plays the goal will be 3-0,’ added Salt. ‘We have played some very good cricket against a good side in these last two games so if we can put our stump on it again at Edgbaston everybody will be very happy.’
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