MATCH STORIES
Follow UsEngland have a set opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler. If you dig deeper, they might even have an argument for Will Jacks. However, should Phil Salt’s name, too, be taken in the same breath?
In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Salt has smashed 392 runs at a strike rate of 180.64, which includes four fifties – with the latest one coming against Delhi Capitals (DC) – the team that let him go after just one season.
One can understand DC’s position at that point as Salt had blown hot and cold for them, but their loss turned out to be Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) gain. Jason Roy pulling out gave the England batter a new lease of life and boy, has he grabbed it with both hands. The gamble to include Salt in the XI ahead of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who played 11 matches for KKR last season, paid off.
Salt’s partnership at the top with Sunil Narine has been one of the reasons behind Kolkata comfortably placed in the points table.
His ability to take on the pacers has worked in his favour. No player has scored more runs (337 at 56.17) against the pacers than Salt this season, with a strike rate of 189.3. To put things into perspective, only two players - Travis Head and Dinesh Karthik - have a higher average and strike rate (combined) than Salt against the fast bowlers.
Even in the powerplay, among players who have at least 30 runs in the phase, Salt’s strike rate of 183.3 is the best after Jake Fraser-McGurk (256.6), Abhishek Sharma (227.4) and Travis Head (226.7).
His strength comes from the fact that he has butchered the fast bowlers on length and short length areas, striking at 150 and 206, respectively against deliveries pitched in those areas.
What makes it even more impressive is the fact that the rest of the batters have struck at 129 against deliveries bowled on length, and anything shorter than that, they have a strike rate of 164. Salt clearly has the edge over the other batters in that aspect, which has worked in his and his team’s favour.
This aspect of his game could prove to be beneficial in the West Indies, where England will play all their round-robin matches. Salt made a statement with back-to-back centuries against the Windies just prior to the IPL auction in December 2023. His effort was still not good enough for any team to bid for him, but with Jason Roy backing off, Salt arrived in KKR colours, and this could very well be a stepping stone into the England opening slot.
However, it will not be easy as there are at least three viable options for that spot; Salt has certainly put his hands up.
He certainly has the numbers to show he deserves it.
England have already experimented with Bairstow opening with Will Jacks against New Zealand, with Buttler slotting in the middle order. They have also had Salt opening with Buttler in the most recent series against West Indies. In a way, England have already tried multiple options in the last 6-7 months and it has paid off. Now, they have a selection headache ahead of the T20 World Cup – a good one to have, perhaps.
However, Salt’s ability to take the powerplay head-on and his prowess against the pacers in that phase and beyond should keep him in the reckoning, even if England eventually decide to look elsewhere.
