Salt Leads the English Team to Maiden T20 Victory Against Ireland

Opening T20, Malahide

Ireland 196-3 (20 overs): Harry Tector 61* (36), Lorcan Tucker 55 (36)

The visitors 197-6 (17.4 overs): Salt 89 (46)

England won by 4 wickets and top the contest 1-0

Phil Salt again shone for England as they beat their opponents by four wickets in the opening match of a three-game T20 series in Dublin.

The England opener blasted eighty-nine off forty-six balls but missed out of what would have been his second straight hundred when he was caught by Ross Adair with the final delivery of the 15th over.

By then, he had done most of the hard work of the run chase for his team, who finished the job of chasing Ireland's 196 for three with more than two overs to remaining.

Travelling without their senior players, England were led by Jacob Bethell for the first time, with the 21-year-old scoring 24 off sixteen balls before a tame shot to the fielder just as he appeared to be finding the gears.

In what was their first fixture of any kind since a T20 win over West Indies on 15 June, Ireland will have believed their score, which included fifties for both Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker, was a challenging one.

But just five days after their remarkable 304-2 against the Proteas on a record-breaking night in Old Trafford, a revamped England began their response in dominant fashion before the hosts battled back for some late wickets.

The win represented the team's maiden win over Ireland in the format in what was their second-ever completed game, and the teams will meet again at Malahide on Friday and Sunday.

On the day when the young captain became the most junior player to captain an English team, his first act as Harry Brook's temporary skipper was to successfully call the toss and ask the opponents in to bat.

Amid all the build-up talk about the amount of cricket, or lack thereof, played by Ireland in the lead-up to this contest, there will have been much of curiosity in how openers Stirling and Ross Adair fared.

Although there were undoubtedly a few instances when the duo appeared to be searching for their rhythm in the early overs, Ireland were 49-0 at the end of the powerplay, with Stirling in especially providing some powerful strokes.

Among the captain's four maximums, a couple were driven onto the roof of the pavilion at the compact ground in north Dublin.

After providing the steady start, the batsmen were dismissed in quick succession with Adair caught on the rope by Phil Salt in the 8th over when attempting a shot over the on side off the bowling of Liam Dawson.

9 deliveries and ten runs later, Paul Stirling followed after edging at the bowling of Rashid with Jacks taking the catch.

The arrivals of Harry Tector and then Lorcan Tucker to the wicket saw the batting side take an increased number of ones for the rest of their batting effort but Tector still struck 7 boundaries in his unbeaten 61 from thirty-six balls.

Tector, who brought up his own half-century with a shot for a maximum, almost batted to the end of the spell, only to deflect the penultimate delivery into the hands of the wicketkeeper.

Lacking the services of Mark Adair and Little in their bowling unit, it was the left-arm spin of Humphreys who opened the Irish bowling against Salt in the English opener's first innings since reaching a century off just 39 balls against South Africa at Manchester recently.

England quickly set about chasing down their goal of one hundred and ninety-seven.

Once Barry McCarthy and Hume could discover no answer for England's big-hitting, Craig Young somewhat checked their fast progress in the 4th over, before Humphreys' second spell saw the wicketkeeper loft one to Campher to be dismissed for 28 off 10 balls.

In spite of the loss of their opening wicket, the team still ended the first six overs on 84-1 with Salt's half-century coming off just 20 deliveries.

He would escape being caught off a Tector no-ball but kept to hit Ireland's bowlers to every part of the ground.

The captain's exit came after striking a maximum over the makeshift stand before Gareth Delany celebrated his 100th Irish appearance with the wicket of Ahmed.

Even after the bowler took the dismissals of Sam Curran and Salt in the fifteenth over, the chasing side always looked on course for the win with Jamie Overton ultimately providing the winning runs with 20 deliveries to spare.