Already a World Cup winner, Salt was a minor component of England’s success in 2022, where he came into the XI in the semi-final, didn’t bat against India, and then made 10 against Pakistan at the MCG batting at No.3.
In the time since, he has become one of the premier T20 openers in the world and sees this as his chance to put an England team on his back, and lead them to World Cup glory.
“Yes, definitely,” Salt says of whether victory here would feel different. “That’s a massive source of motivation for myself. Obviously, I started that World Cup in Australia out of the team. Hopefully, I start this one in the team and put a stamp on it. It’s really simple.”
The clear air in which Salt operates makes itself more apparent when you take in only international cricket. When you consider only nation against nation, there is the rest, then there is Phil Salt, and then there is Abhishek Sharma.
Salt’s strike-rate is 169.5, making him the only player in the world close to operating at 170. Meanwhile, Sharma is operating in a world of his own on 197.3.
“I’d like to catch him,” Salt jokes of Sharma, who is currently ranked as the ICC’s No.1 T20 batter in the world, with Salt second. “That’s been my goal for a while, even when Suryakumar Yadav was number one. A completely different batter, but I still wanted to catch him.
“I really like watching him bat, I’ll be honest with you. Last night, I was disappointed because he got out early.
“The fact that he can hit the first ball for six like that, the way he runs down the wicket, fights that line from really straight to get it over the offside, but then also hits a ball wide to him over the leg side. It’s completely different. I’m never going to be him. He’s never going to be me. But I do enjoy watching him bat.”
Salt isn’t shy to highlight India as the heavy favourites in a home World Cup.
“I think they are by far and away the strongest team in the World Cup,” Salt says. “And I’m really excited by the idea that we get to come up against them in a World Cup in their own backyard.”
But India’s backyard is also Salt’s. A now two-time IPL winner, Salt has the highest strike-rate of anyone in IPL history with a minimum of 25 innings played.
“It’s obviously the strongest T20 league in the world so if you can’t go there and pick things up that’ll help you out then you’re probably not looking at it the right way.”
Before the World Cup starts, Salt is preparing for England’s three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka, which – curiously given the modern game – will be the first time that Salt has played Sri Lanka across his 83-game international career.
“I’ll be having a good chat with our analyst tonight,” Salt says of how he plans to prepare. “I’ll be watching as much footage as possible. I’ll have a good look at them in the warm-up tomorrow. It’s about having clarity on where they miss and what their plans are.
“It’s not Moneyball by any stretch of the imagination. Just being fully prepped to the point that there are no surprises.”
Away from international cricket, Salt, who was born in Wales, was also recently named as the new Welsh Fire captain for the first edition of the Hundred under new ownership.
For a competition that has been striving for storylines and to create a connection with fans who are yet to fully invest in the brand new teams, to have Salt, born and raised in Wales, is a coup for the competition, and a point of particular pride for him, having represented the North-East Wales age-groups as a child.
“Massively so,” Salt says. “I don’t want to just sit here and say ‘oh it means a lot,’ because, no, it really does.
“It’s the small things, like my mum was over the moon when I told her. Going back and filming a video at St. Asaph CC where I first picked up a cricket bat, with Gaz [Gareth] Ryan there who was in charge of the club then and is in charge of the club now. It was a really nice moment to be there.
“And then looking ahead to the summer, I’m really, really excited and 100% proud of where I’ve come from and the people who have got me to where I am.”
Cameron Ponsonby is a freelance cricket writer in London. @cameronponsonby
