Phil Salt blasts record T20 century as England rout South Africa to level series

Phil Salt smashed a record-breaking unbeaten 141 as England overwhelmed South Africa by 146 runs at Emirates Old Trafford, producing a T20I landmark score of 304-2 and levelling the three-match series at 1-1 ahead of Sunday's decider in Nottingham.

Salt's 141 off 60 balls included 23 boundaries and eight sixes, and he reached three figures in just 39 deliveries — the fastest T20I hundred by an England player, eclipsing Liam Livingstone's 42-ball ton in 2021. England's 304-2 is the highest T20 international total recorded between two Test nations, and it was built on a blistering opening stand and relentless hitting through the innings.

Salt set the tone immediately, hitting 18 from the first six balls he faced off Marco Jansen — the most runs by an England batter in the first over of a T20I — and brought up a half-century off 19 balls. He said after the match he wants to be "the best in the world" as a T20 opener and described his approach as trying "to take games as deep as possible while still batting at a high strike-rate."

Jos Buttler provided powerful support at the other end, dominating early and contributing to a 126-run opening partnership from 47 balls. Buttler reached his half-century off 18 deliveries and looked on course for a century before being caught for 83 from 30 balls. Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell also played useful supporting roles during the onslaught.

Former England batter Dawid Malan described Salt's innings as a "perfect game of cricket," praising the batter's conviction and ability to take the game on from ball one. Salt's 141 surpassed his own previous highest for England men in T20Is — 119 against the West Indies in 2023 — and also moved him level with India's Suryakumar Yadav on four career T20I centuries, behind only Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell, who have five apiece.

England reached 100 without loss after six overs, two runs shy of the powerplay record for a match between Test nations of 102-0 set by South Africa against the West Indies in 2023. Salt said he had worked on being "the most dangerous in the first 10, 15 balls of the game," a tactic he believes can unsettle bowling sides and change the course of a match early.

South Africa's reply never gained momentum against England's bowling attack. England reduced the visitors regularly and eventually bowled them out for 158. Jofra Archer was among the wicket-takers, producing a crucial spell that helped halt the chase.

The emphatic victory restored parity to the series, with the deciding match to be played in Nottingham on Sunday. England captain Harry Brook praised Salt's role and the team's collective performance, saying it demonstrated the side's potential to be among the most dominant teams in the world if they reproduce that level of execution consistently.

Salt's night at Old Trafford combined individual milestones with team records. His 39-ball hundred is the fastest by an England batter in T20 internationals; his 141 is the highest score by an England man in the format and is among the highest individual T20I scores worldwide. The innings also added to England's growing tally of T20 centuries, with Salt now responsible for half of the nation's eight centuries in men's T20 internationals.

Salt had been dismissed for a golden duck in Cardiff earlier in the series, making his recovery on home soil particularly emphatic. The performance underlined his role as a specialist aggressor at the top of the order and intensified discussion about his place among the game's leading T20 openers.

England will travel to Nottingham for the series decider where South Africa will seek to respond after a heavy defeat. The result at Old Trafford not only reshaped the contest but also added a significant chapter to the ongoing evolution of T20 records and individual benchmarks in international cricket.