If you were to interview for the next England Test wicketkeeper, Phil Salt would give all the right answers and tick every box.
He also has a platform in the coming weeks to showcase his need for a red-ball opportunity, opening up the batting at the Twenty20 World Cup with the added benefit of familiarity with his surroundings. Salt spent most of his teenage and early cricketing years in Barbados, playing every night of the week for some of the most famous clubs: Pickwick, Wanderers and YMPC.
When he plays England’s World Cup opener against Scotland at the Kensington Oval on June 4, Salt will unpack his kit in the dressing room, just yards from where he sat as a fan in the Hall & Griffith stand in 2010, watching England win the World T20 final won. against Australia. While captain Paul Collingwood was doing a lap of honor with the trophy, he allowed the then 13-year-old Salt and his mates to touch the trophy. Australian captain Michael Clarke gave him his shirt. “A week later, I scored my first hundred wearing it,” says Salt Telegraph Sports.
So there will be many fond memories of this homecoming of sorts for Salt, who lived on the island for “six to eight years, I’m not sure how long” when his father, who works in real estate development, helped build a house . luxury apartment complex on the west coast.
It feels like 2024 is Salt’s time and a breakthrough year beckons. His first hundreds for England in the T20 series against the West Indies in December were a fine way to end 2023 and in recent weeks he has made a name for himself in the IPL, opening for Kolkata Knight with great style and success Riders.
The IPL appearance prevented Salt from playing Championship cricket for Lancashire and in other eras it would certainly have cost him the opportunity to run for England’s Test wicketkeeper role in July. But Rob Key recently took pains to say “no one will be left out” and the “decision on who remains in the Test team will not be made whether anyone has played championship cricket or not”. It was a comment made with Salt in mind as he is a realistic option to bat seven and stay in the Test side.
Brendon McCullum likes his aggressive batting and if the decision is made to pick a player who is a better batsman than a keeper (rather than Ben Foakes who is the other way around), then Salt, who averaged 43 in his last two seasons , championship cricket, could really make his case in the West Indies. Not because the format is necessarily related to Test cricket (not even the Bazballers), but performing under pressure in a World Cup would show he has the character to handle high-profile occasions.
Surrey’s Jamie Smith says he’s ready to take on the job, Durham’s Ollie Robinson scored a big hundred for Ben Stokes last week and Jonny Bairstow is also heading to the West Indies with the chance to prove he’s not ready yet is.
But Salt is the closest thing to Bairstow – a power hitter and adequate gloveman (at least before Bairstow’s injuries). Smith’s longer-term future could be at No. 3 in place of Ollie Pope.
For Salt, he says, there is no doubt that he can do it. “I like playing red-ball cricket. I feel like it’s something I’m good at. I opened the batting for a long time and it was difficult. It suits me much better as a mid-table player for Lancs and I’ve had a few good years.”
The next is the line where McCullum nods his head, thinking that he may have found his man. “I enjoy that role coming in and taking on the second new ball, hitting with the tail. It’s almost a game within a game.”
He feels his glovework is good after holding the IPL against spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, so the fact that Buttler retains this series against Pakistan, which resumes tomorrow in Cardiff, and will continue to do so in the West Indies is not the case. such a problem. That scenario could also change if Buttler feels it is too much to open, retain and captain the side.
“I love playing four-day cricket. Chris Read recently talked about the 10 over 6 nick. You’ve been there all day, had nothing and suddenly there’s a nick. I enjoy the challenge of that, the whole idea of being able to bat all day in four-day cricket as well. We play so much white ball cricket that it becomes ingrained in the style of batting, but I like the change in mentality of playing red ball when you have as much time as you want.
“Every chance I get, I try to keep it. Keeping Sunny and Varun turning wickets was brilliant. That was very nice. Sometimes I feel like being tested at that level is a good indication of where your game is.
What about Bazball? “I’ve always played like that,” Salt emphasizes. “Just ask some bowlers in the championship. I like it. It’s not all one crash, one blow. It’s about being smart, enjoying it and then putting your foot on the accelerator, all the bits of four-day cricket that I love. That’s what they’re doing right now.”
Methodical approach
Salt thinks deeply about his batting and is known for training hard. He says he has learned to trust coaches more. “It’s about the willingness to be vulnerable and ask.” The result this year, according to Buttler, is that he has expanded his offside game. He works with a sports psychologist and enjoys the mental challenge of cricket, developing a deep-rooted routine between the balls that helps him relax in the whirlwind of a T20.
“There are certain places where I can only touch the fold. The way I pick up my bat when it rests on my pad is the same every time, I do everything three times. I take three steps into the box (fold). I tap my bat three times, I look up three times, I tap it three more times, and if I have time, I tap it three more times, but each time in a different rhythm. It seems like a lot, but it’s over in seconds. I have no idea what it looks like when I’m there. It is now deeply ingrained, but was difficult to achieve. It helps with reading the game.
Salt, like all players, has grown in confidence as he has a steady role in opening the batting in T20, with Buttler knowing he is backed to perform. He may have a new job in a few weeks, one that will come with its share of criticism but could lead him to an Ashes in Australia next year and a chance to personally thank Michael Clarke for that shirt.