England hit record 267 to beat the West Indies and set up T20 series decider… with Phil Salt smashing 119 off just 57 after his IPL snub

• Phil Salt’s second successive century helped England hit their highest T20 score
• He smashed 119 from just 57 balls and included 10 sixes as England posted 267-3
• West Indies kept up with imposing run rate but were eventually dismissed for 192

Timing is everything. Had the Indian Premier League auction been held in Dubai on Wednesday morning, Phil Salt would arguably have been waking up a millionaire.

Unsold on Tuesday, he responded to his snub by hitting England’s highest Twenty20 score on an evening of carnage in the Caribbean.

In smashing 119 from 57 balls, Salt also became the first England batsman to hit back-to-back hundreds in the format, following the unbeaten 109 on Saturday that maintained hopes of a comeback series victory for Jos Buttler’s team.

Asked about his emotions at missing out, Salt said: ‘I’m a bit confused, to be honest. I was expecting to be picked up, having gone there last year and done well, and the year that I’ve had.

‘But it can happen. There are no bad players on the list in the IPL and so it’s one of those things.

Phil Salt’s second successive century helped England hit their highest ever T20 score

‘I wouldn’t say I was hurt. We are very lucky with what we do. I’m just here enjoying my cricket, cracking on.’

The combination of poise and power from a player also deemed unworthy of a central contract two months ago, along with half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone eased

England to a 75-run win, setting up a decider back at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Thursday.

Despite West Indies outstripping the 13-an-over asking rate for the first half of their pursuit, the result was all-but confirmed by the time Salt was yorked by Andre Russell in the 19th over.

Russell had begun it by serving up five leg-side wides to propel England beyond their previous-best Twenty20 total of 241 for three versus New Zealand in Napier four years ago.

Salt struck an England-high 10 sixes in all, including three muscular pulls in a row off Sherfane Rutherford’s medium pace, sharing 117 for the wicket with Buttler, then 56 off just 23 balls with Will Jacks and a further 73 off 29 with Liam Livingstone.

The only moments of concern in another short-form masterclass by the Lancashire player came when he nicked left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie wide of wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran on 39, and on 93 when Rovman Powell’s shy at the non-striker’s end whistled past the stumps.

His three figures came up from 48 deliveries in partnership with Livingstone, who targeted debutant Matthew Forde, clearing the rope three times in succession, and then put the finishing touches to the second biggest T20 total made by a Test nation against another, flashing Jason Holder for a trio of fours at the death to set the West Indies the challenge of scoring at more than 13 runs an over.

Captain Jos Buttler smashed 55 from 29 balls and Liam Livingstone added an unbeaten 54

Leg spinner Rehan Ahmed took two wickets in as many balls on his return to England team

That task was put into context by the fact that the only successful 200-plus chase in internationals on West Indies soil was England’s seven-wicket pursuit of 223 in Grenada at the weekend.

Salt took the gloves to allow England captain Buttler to direct things like from mid-off. It must have felt like air traffic control as West Indies made a rollicking start of their own, overcoming the loss of Brandon King first ball to power 87 runs from the six power-play overs.

But wickets fell regularly as England caught superbly, Harry Brook taking the pick – a sprawling effort following a 30-yard hurtle from long-on – to end Nicholas Pooran’s 15-ball 39.

And so Russell’s belligerent 51 off 25 simply stretched out the entertainment for a previously raucous home crowd.

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