On Thursday, Phil Salt turned down an invitation to party with Rihanna in favour of an early night. On Saturday, his third T20I century blitzed England to an eight-wicket win against West Indies.
It’s a decision he may live to regret from a personal perspective, but not from a professional one, as he extended his remarkable T20 record against West Indies. In his last five matches against this opposition, he has made three centuries and scored 456 runs at an average of 228 and strike-rate of 193.
“Rihanna’s parties can wait,” Salt joked after play.
Salt was ably supported by Jacob Bethell, who made his first T20I half-century, as England’s two Bajan boys did the business in their hometown with plenty of friends and family in the stand. Both played their school cricket for the nearby Harrison college and Salt says Kensington Oval is the ground that he has watched the most cricket. The emotions of the occasion were clear as he celebrated three figures.
“There was a turning point in the chase where we could both sort of feel the crowd had turned and were now supporting us,” Salt said of his partnership with Bethell.
“It was really special,” he added of reaching his century. “I don’t get very emotional on the cricket field but that’s as close as I’ve come I think for so many reasons. That’s number one for me.”
Salt’s first fifty came in 25 balls, his second in 28. At one stage, he hit Shamar Joseph for five consecutive boundaries.
For all the nuances of Test and one-day international cricket, there are few sporting events more fun than a T20 at Kensington Oval on a Saturday night. An equal mix of tourists and locals in the crowd, you sip on a rum and then dodge a six as it flies past your head. A new way of blending pleasure and pain.
On the surface, England’s victory may look routine, but it was the result of a match played at full throttle from beginning to end. In the opening four overs, Saqib Mahmood had reduced West Indies to 18 for three, only for the home team to commit to carnage and blast their way out of trouble.
For every six that was struck, a wicket would fall. It was a mentality best exhibited by the home No 10 Gudakesh Motie, who arrived at the crease at 117 for eight with more than five overs to go and launched his first two balls for six.
All of Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran and Akeal Hosein were back for the home team, with Russell at one stage launching a ball over the pavilion and into the road as a thrilling first innings dramatically swung in favour of each team.
The fireworks were not reserved solely for the pitch, either. For much of the last 24 hours in Barbados, torrential rain had fallen and halfway through Reece Topley’s third over, it arrived again, but did not stop play.
Topley, who has a long history of serious injuries, bowled one more ball, slipped and fell. As he lay on the ground in pain, the covers finally came on. After the restart, he bowled a single delivery that was struck for six and left the pitch immediately in clear discomfort. As he walked up the changing room stairs, he grabbed a nearby plastic chair and smashed it over the bannister in frustration.
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Such was Salt’s dominance, Jos Buttler’s golden duck on his return fell to insignificance. Buttler, experimenting with batting at No 3, was fantastically caught at third man by Motie, who flung out a hand and took a diving one-handed catch over his head.
It was Buttler’s first innings in almost five months, but just like everyone else who got to watch this match, all he could do was smile.
