Phil Salt is ready to make an impact for England in the T20 World Cup after fine-tuning his game in the IPL. Photo: Ashley Allen/Getty Images
If you had to interview the next England Test wicketkeeper, Phil Salt would give all the right answers and tick all the boxes.
He also has a platform for the next few weeks. to show that he should be given a chance at the red ball by opening his account at the Twenty20 World Cup with the added benefit of familiarity with his surroundings. Salt spent much of his teenage and early cricketing years living in Barbados, playing every night of the week for some of the most famous clubs — Pickwick, Wanderers and YMPC.
When he plays the opening World Cup match between England and Scotland at Kensington Oval on June 4, Salt will unpack his kit in the dressing room just yards from where he sat in the Hall and Hall. Griffith watches as a fan in 2010 as England win the T20 World Cup final against Australia. As Captain Paul Collingwood took a lap of honor with the trophy, he allowed the then 13-year-old Salt and his comrades to touch the trophy. Australia captain Michael Clarke gave him his jersey. “Within a week I scored my first hundred,” Salt told Telegraph Sport.
So this homecoming of sorts will create a lot of happy memories for Salt, who lived on the island for “six to eight years, I don’t know.” , what time,” when his father, who works in real estate development, helped build the house. luxury residential building on the west coast.
It seems that 2024 is Salt's time and we are in for a breakthrough year. His first hundred for England in the T20 series against the West Indies in December capped off 2023, and in recent weeks he has made a name for himself in the IPL, debuting in style and success for the Kolkata Knight Riders.< /p> 
Salt has been in excellent form for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Photo: Pankaj Nangia/AP Photo
The IPL performance prevented Salt from playing Championship cricket for Lancashire and in other eras would have likely cost him the chance of securing selection as England's wicket-taker in July. But Rob Key recently went out of his way to say that «no one will be left out» and «the decision on who remains in the Test team will not be made based on whether someone has played in championship cricket or not.» This was a comment made with Salt in mind because he represents a viable option to score seven points and remain in the Test side.
Brendon McCullum likes his aggressive batting and if the decision is made to go for a player who is a better batter than a wicketkeeper (rather than Ben Foakes, who is the opposite), then Salt, who has averaged 43 in the last two seasons of Championship cricket, is indeed could promote his business in the West Indies. Not because the format is necessarily Test cricket (even with the Buzzballers), but performing under pressure at the World Cup will show he has the character to handle high-profile events.
Surrey's Jamie Smith says he's ready To begin the job, Durham's Ollie Robinson scored a big hundred ahead of Ben Stokes last week, while Jonny Bairstow also heads to the West Indies to prove he's not done yet.
< p>But Salt is Bairstow's closest analogue — a powerful striker and a fairly good gloveman (at least before Bairstow's injuries). In the long term, Smith could take third place instead of Ollie Pope.
As for Salt, he has no doubt that he can do it. “I love playing red ball cricket. I feel like this is what I'm good at. It took me a long time to open the batting and it was difficult. I'm more happy with the average at Lancs and I've had a couple of good years.”
What follows is McCallum nodding his head, thinking he may have found his man. “I like this role: I come and take the second new ball, hitting it with my tail. It's almost a game within a game.»
He feels his gloves are fine after staying in the IPL with spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, so the fact that Buttler is holding on in this series against Pakistan, which resumes in Cardiff on Tuesday, will continue to do so in the West -India is not such a problem. This scenario could also change if Buttler feels that he has too much to open, save and lead the team.
“I enjoy playing four-day cricket. Chris Reed was talking about Nick 10 of 6 the other day. You were there all day, you had nothing, and then suddenly Nick showed up. I love the challenge, the idea of being able to bat all day in four-day cricket. We play so much white-ball cricket that it becomes an integral part of our approach with the bat, but I love the change in mindset when playing red-ball when you have as much time as you want.
“Every opportunity I get I work to save. It was brilliant keeping Sunny and Varun on spinning wickets. It was very funny. Sometimes I think it's a good indicator of what level your game is at if you're being tested at that level.»
What about Baseball? “That’s how I’ve always played,” Salt insists. “Ask a few bowlers at the championship. I like it. It's not a complete collapse. It's about being smart, taking it all in and then stepping on the gas pedal, it's all four-day cricket that I love. This is exactly what they are doing at the moment.”
Methodological approach
Salt thinks deeply about his swing and is known to practice hard. He says he has learned to trust coaches more. “It’s about being willing to be vulnerable and ask.” Buttler said he has expanded his off-spin game this year. He works with a sports psychologist and enjoys the mental challenge of cricket, developing a deeply ingrained routine between balls that helps him relax in the whirlwind of T20.
“There are certain places that I can only touch at the crease. . The way I lift the bat when it's on the mat is the same every time: I do it all three times. I take three steps into the box (fold). I tap the bat three times, look up three times, tap three times again, and if I have time, I tap three more times, but with a different rhythm each time. It sounds like a lot, but it was all over in a matter of seconds. I have no idea what it looks like when I'm there. It's deeply ingrained now, but it was difficult to achieve. It helps me read the game.
Salt, like all players, has gained confidence in himself because he has a defined role as an opener in T20 and Buttler knows he is backed to perform. He may have another new job in a few weeks that will draw scrutiny but could lead him to the Ashes in Australia next year and the chance to personally thank Michael Clarke for that shirt.
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