Phil Salt’s record-breaking 141* from just 60 deliveries was a brutal exhibition of batting dominance that not only rewrote the record books but also reinforced his claim as one of the most feared T20 batters on the planet.
England’s opener tore into the opposition from the outset, dispatching the ball to every corner of the ground and showering boundaries onto a stunned crowd. His hundred came in just 39 balls, the fastest ever by an England batter in T20 internationals, in an innings that powered his side beyond 300 runs for the very first time in the format.

Speaking afterwards to the BBC, Salt reflected on his approach:

"Enjoying being there at the crease for as long as you can and just a will to impact the game, that's how I see it," Salt said.

"I want to take games as deep as possible while still batting at a high strike-rate. The two don't often go hand in hand, but that's what I want to do as a player.

"The goal is to be right up there. I want to be the best in the world at this."

His intent was clear from the first over, when he dispatched Marco Jansen for three boundaries. From there, Salt never relented, plundering 23 boundaries in total, including eight towering sixes.

It was his fourth T20I century for England, remarkable given the national side has only ever managed eight in total. Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and Dawid Malan own the others. The milestone also puts Salt level with India’s Suryakumar Yadav on four career T20I centuries, with only Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell on five apiece ahead of him.

But Salt did not stop at the ton. He carried on relentlessly, finishing unbeaten on 141*, the highest individual score ever by an England player in T20 cricket and the seventh highest in the history of men’s T20 internationals. It was a staggering display of skill, power and execution, a knock that may well go down as career-defining.

Frustratingly for fans, the final match of the series was washed out without a ball bowled, denying the chance to see Salt cut loose once more as the series finished level at 1-1. England’s next assignment is a three-match T20 series against Ireland, starting 17 September, and with Salt in this kind of form, the Irish attack will already be bracing for impact.