Phil Salt ‘Lost For Words’ After His Own Record-Breaking Night Against South Africa

The record-breaking 126-run stand between Phil Salt and Jos Buttler was the 4th time the pair put on a 100+ stand in their 17 T20I innings together.

Phil Salt ‘Lost For Words’ After His Own Record-Breaking Night Against South Africa

Phil Salt scored a record-breaking hundred in England's second T20I against South Africa, a home. (via Guardian)

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A night of historic feats unfolded for the England T20I side, as they became the first full-member nation to break the 300-run mark in the shortest format. Phil Salt, on a record-breaking spree himself, scored a scintillating hundred, and was left out of words after the team’s dominant showing.

The Three Lions were aiming to make a strong comeback in the second T20I of the three-match home series against South African, after having lost the series opener in a disappointing manner by 14 runs. The second T20I at Old Trafford turned out to be exactly what England needed, with the team setting a new record for the highest T20I total by a full-member ICC nation, finishing with a staggering 304/2.

England’s 302/2 against South Africa surpassed their previous record of 267 against the West Indies in 2023, as well as India’s 297-run record against Bangladesh from the previous year. For the Three Lions, Phil Salt was at the center of attention, as he scored 141 runs off just 60 balls, plundering 15 fours and eight sixes. Jos Buttler added in with 83 off just 30 balls, while Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook contributed with 26 and 41, respectively.

Phil Salt also etched his name in record books, with his 39-ball hundred being the fastest ever by an English player in T20Is, breaking Liam Livingstone’s 42-ball record set against Pakistan in 2021. The 29-year-old wicket-keeper batter’s unbeaten 141-run knock also became the highest individual score for an Englishman in Men’s T20Is, as he eclipsed his own record of 119 against West Indies in 2023.

After the match, Phil Salt, initially at a loss for words, described his evening as ‘really good fun’. The 29-year-old noted that while he and Jos Buttler had only planed to provide a solid start to England’s innings, they kept on going after the initial 100-run partnership.

Salt also expressed delight at having shattered records at Old Trafford, a ground that holds special significance for him as he represents Lancashire and Manchester Originals. He said after winning the POTM award:

I don’t know what to say, to be honest. I came out with a plan to give us a quick start. That’s what myself and Jos [Buttler] did, putting on the 100-run partnership. From there, it was just a case of keeping the pressure on.

Meanwhile, England went on to win the match by 146 runs, as the Proteas were bowled out for just 158 in 16.1 overs. Phil Salt now has four T20I hundreds in only 42 innings, a feat that makes him the quickest to reach this milestone, surpassing Suryakumar Yadav’s record of 57 innings.

Phil Salt Joins Exclusive Club of Players, with England’s Highest T20I Individual Total

England opener Phil Salt had a day to remember, as he smashed records on his way to score 141 runs off just 60 balls, against South Africa. Salt’s knock not only became the highest individual T20I score for the Three Lions but also earned him a place among a select group of elite T20 batters.

Phil Salt, Glenn Maxwell,Hazratullah Zazai and Aaron Finch
Phil Salt now has the fifth highest individual T20I score, behind Aaron Finch, Hazartullah Zazai and Glenn Maxwell. (via India Today)

The 29-year-old, as he recorded the fifth-highest individual score in T20I cricket, is now a part of a list that comprises players with the highest scores in the shortest format of the game. Ex-Australian icon Aaron Finch leads the list with his 172-run knock against Zimbabwe in 2018. Finch is followed by Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai, who ranks second with his unbeaten 162-run knock against Ireland in 2019.

Finch is also ranked third on this list, for his 156 run-innings against England in 2013. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell ranks fourth with his unbeaten 145 run-knock against Sri Lanka in 2016. Coming back to Phil Salt, in 45 T20Is since 2022, the batter now has scored 1,334 runs at an average 37.05, and stands seventh on the all-time run-getters list for England.

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler, who supported Phil Salt from the other side against South Africa at Old Trafford, added a few records to his name as well. He completed his half-century off just 18 balls, the third fastest by an English player in T20I cricket, after Liam Livingstone (17 balls) and Moeen Ali (16 balls). 

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