After guiding England to a solid win in the third T20I against England in Grenada, Philip Salt has become the talk of the town. The opener slammed his maiden ton, 109 from 56, to chase down a daunting target of 223. After his blazing innings, Salt was mighty pleased, and relieved with his effort on Saturday.
“It feels like it’s been a long time coming in an England shirt, so it’s special to do it now, especially with [West Indies] being able to take the series today,” Salt said after the match, quoted as saying by The Cricketer.
“There’s a way to do it. You can’t get 40 off 20 and then take 10 off 10 balls – it changes the whole complexion of the game. It’s about playing my game, doing it my way, and more than anything, it’s about the role I have in the partnership with Jos, freeing him up to play as he does because he’s one of the best in the world.”
Salt mentioned the example of West Indies batter Shai Hope, who scored 109 from 89 balls in the first ODI of the series, to take his side home. “We’ve been talking as a group about someone standing up and being a match-winner,” he continued.
“We saw Shai’s knock in Antigua. He stayed composed for so long and that was the difference. We were talking about someone in our side having the exact same mentality, trying to get it down to 60 or 70 off the last five and that’s what we did. Brooky came in and played a hell of a knock at the end.”
Meanwhile, skipper Jos Buttler was all praise for the man of the moment, Salt. He said, “Great to keep the series alive. Hats off to Salt. Last game we talked about staying till the end. Credit to Salt. We tried a lot with the ball. Was a tough place for the spinners. Salt has got such great intent. Staying in a game bit longer is important.”
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