It was all about the Salt overpowering the Caribbean flavour today, as Phil Salt wreaked havoc upon the West Indies with an unbeaten 84-run stand to clinch England a dominant 8-wicket win on Thursday.
England would have their way to begin with, winning the toss and electing to bowl first.
WI started off on their usual attacking flow, as the likes of King and Charles took no time in letting loose. But, a freak injury led to King retiring hurt, only for Nicholas Pooran to take over the role.
Pooran and Charles wreaked havoc in the first ten overs especially, as WI stood at a strong 82/0 at the end of the first 10 overs. And this was when England’s fortunes started to turn.
Coming in to bat after the break, England started to tighten their grip on the WI batters as a flurry of wickets continued to fall through the middle overs, after a spirited cameo from skipper Rovman Powell, for WI to stand at 143/4 after 17 overs.
But, a final push from the likes of Sherfane Rutherford, who notched a quick 28* from 15 balls helped WI put up 180 runs on the board for the English to chase.
There was no faltering of any sort, as England’s batters came out with intent and resilience to send a message to the hosts and the rest of the teams in the tournament.
Phil Salt and Jos Buttler set off on an equally fiery start, scoring 58 runs within the powerplay, as the English fought off the likes of a menacing Akeal Hosein.
But, the introduction of Roston Chase would spark a change in fortunes momentarily, as the off-spinner wreaked havoc, removing Buttler in a hurry as he mustered up a menacing start to his spell, giving away just 8 runs in his first two overs, as the momentum shifted.
Andre Russell would also capitalise off the same shift, as he would remove an aggressive Moeen Ali, to bring on Jonny Bairstow, a move that would mark the beginning of the end for West Indies.
Salt held on through all the spells, as Bairstow came in and instantly let loose, taking on every bowler at will and walloping them for boundaries galore, as England rebuilt in quick time, to stand at 141-2 by the end of 15 overs.
Then, it was all the Philip Salt show, as the swashbuckling opener accelerated from 49(37) to 79(43), demolishing Romario Shepherd for a flurry for sixes and fours — 4,6,4,6,6,4 to be exact — to ransack 30 runs off the single over to kill the hosts’ hopes once and for all.
When it was all said and done, Salt would stand tall and undefeated at 84* off 45 balls alongside Bairstow, as England notched up a dominant 8-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
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