Coming out for the toss, Jacob Bethell became the youngest captain in England’s cricket history. On the day he set that record, Phil Salt lit up the stage. With his explosive batting, the English opener almost single-handedly shaped the outcome of the match.
In Dublin on Wednesday, England beat Ireland by four wickets to go ahead in the three-match T20 series. The visitors chased down the target of 196 with 14 balls to spare.
Back in March 1889, Monty Bowden led England against South Africa in Cape Town at the age of 23 years and 144 days. Until now, he had been the youngest to captain England in international cricket. Bethell broke that 136-year-old record by leading the side at just 21 years and 329 days.
His memorable day became even brighter with the team’s victory, powered mainly by Salt. He had already scored a record-breaking century in the previous T20I, and he carried that form into the Irish match as well.
Salt smashed 89 off 46 balls with 4 sixes and 10 fours and also took a catch. His dazzling performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
Ireland had started promisingly. After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, they reached 49 without loss in the Powerplay. Their 57-run opening stand broke in the eighth over when Ross Adair fell for 26 off 25 balls.
In the next over, fellow opener Paul Stirling departed too, caught at long-on off Adil Rashid after making 34 off 22 with 4 sixes and a four.
Then Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector shared a record 123-run stand, taking Ireland to a big total. It was their first-ever century stand for the third wicket in T20Is.
Both batters reached fifties—Tector off 31 balls and Tucker off 35. Tucker made 55 off 36 with 4 sixes and 3 fours, while Tector finished with 61 off 36 with 2 sixes and 6 fours.
Chasing the target, Salt and Buttler got England off to a blistering start. Both hit a four in the opening over, and Buttler launched into Graham Hume in the second over with four fours and a six, taking 22 runs off it.
Salt hit two consecutive fours off Will Young, then a four and a six off Matthew Humphreys. In that same over, Buttler, who had threatened a storm with 28 off 10 balls, was dismissed, ending the 74-run opening stand.
Bethell opened his account with a boundary off Barry McCarthy and reached his 50-run partnership milestone when Salt smashed another four off the last ball of the over. England were 84 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay.
Bethell hit Tector for two consecutive fours and a six before getting caught at cover the next ball. He made 24 off 16 on his captaincy debut. After Rehan Ahmed departed, Sam Curran also gave Salt brief support before falling.
By then, England were already on the brink of victory. With only 16 runs needed, Salt was caught at deep point off Hume. Tom Banton also fell in the next over. Despite losing three wickets in two overs, England cruised home without trouble.
The next match will be played on the same ground on Friday.
Brief Score
- Ireland: 196/3 in 20 overs (Stirling 34, Adair 26, Tector 61, Tucker 55, Dockrell 6; Wood 3-0-24-0, Overton 4-0-40-1, Dawson 4-0-39-1, Curran 4-0-43-0, Rashid 4-0-36-1, Rehan 1-0-9-0)
- England: 197/6 in 17.4 overs (Salt 89, Buttler 28, Bethell 24, Rehan 8, Banton 11, Jacks 1, Overton 4; Humphreys 4-0-44-2, McCarthy 3.4-0-43-0, Hume 2-0-36-2, Young 3-0-26-0, Tector 2-0-22-1, Campher 1-0-13-0, Delany 2-0-13-1)
Result: England won by 4 wickets
Player of the Match: Phil Salt
Series: England lead 2-0 in the three-match series
