Phil Salt made the difference as England chased down 197 in their first T20 against Ireland, handing Jacob Bethell a winning start to his record-breaking captaincy.
Bethell, who at 21 became the youngest man to lead England in an international, owed a four-wicket victory to Salt’s top-order fireworks in Malahide.
Six days on from his remarkable 141 not out against South Africa, Salt savaged 89 off 46 balls to take a decisive chunk out of a challenging target and land the man of the match award.
He may have fallen short of his fifth T20 century – and a three-way tie with world record holders Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma – but his propulsive hitting carried England over the line.
They had earlier turned in a modest show with the ball, taking just three wickets as the hosts ran up 196, and their top scorer after Salt was Jos Buttler with 28.
Needing just under 10 an over at the start of their chase, England set their stall out by taking 11 off the first. The bowler, Matthew Humphreys, might soon have been congratulating himself for getting off lightly as Salt and Buttler bolted through the gears.
Barry McCarthy started from the Castle End and saw his first visit taken for 17, including a towering straight six from Salt, with Graham Hume continuing the upward trend as his initial set was pummelled for 22 exclusively off the bat of Buttler.
By the time Salt rapped Craig Young’s first two balls through cover and backward point, England had hit nine out of their last 10 deliveries for four or six.
Humphreys halted the carnage when he had Buttler caught for 28 off 10, Curtis Campher settling under a skier, but the momentum was already irretrievable. Salt was relentless in piercing the infield, completing his half-century in 20 balls.
A powerplay score of 84 for one put England in total control, a grip that only tightened when Harry Tector had Salt caught off a no-ball. Bethell himself dashed off another 24 from the target and was starting to motor when he chipped Tector to cover.
That handed Rehan Ahmed a chance at number four on his first England appearance of the year – having previously only batted at eight or nine. He cleared the ropes once but it was an unsatisfying knock of eight, with a fortunate reprieve on a low catch before he lost his middle stump charging Gareth Delany.
Ireland belatedly exerted a measure of control but never dragged their opponents back far enough. Salt’s hopes of a ton died when he was caught off Hume, who also picked up Sam Curran after he struck three sixes. There were 14 balls remaining when Jamie Overton thumped the winning runs.
In losing six wickets, England made twice as many errors as Ireland, who did well to leave a stiff chase.
Having won the toss and sent the hosts in, Bethell saw opposite number Paul Stirling and Ross Adair set the tone with an attacking opening stand worth 57.
Both men holed out to spin, Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid the beneficiaries, but Lorcan Tucker and Tector picked up seamlessly with a 123-run partnership off just 68 balls.
Tector finished 61 not out, with Tucker nicking Overton’s penultimate delivery of the innings behind for 55.
That brought George Dockrell to the crease for exactly one ball, a full toss which he promptly hammered all the way over the mid-wicket boundary. That was Ireland’s 12th six of the day, with the big-hitting Stirling and Tucker helping themselves to four each.
England’s attack, without the rested Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, looked short of menace on a true pitch. Curran was taken for 43 in four overs, routinely hit off a length and failing to strike with his trademark slower balls, and Overton’s allocation went for 40.
In the end they had done enough to set up the win, their first over Ireland after one washout and a defeat at the 2022 World Cup. Two more games follow in the next four days.
