Of course no run chase, not even one this brilliant, can make up for the travails of recent months. But these heady final overs, and the sheer excitement about seeing Salt and Brook play with undiluted verve, restored something that has been so amiss from English white-ball cricket in recent months: a sense of fun.
Perhaps the sheer magnitude of England’s task – they had only successfully chased more in one previous T20, against South Africa in the 2016 T20 World Cup – brought with it a certain sense of clarity.
“It certainly narrows the mind as to what you need to do,” Salt said. “We spoke in the middle about trying to leave 60 or 70 off the last five – we felt that was something we could do.
“There is no more special feeling than walking off a ground in an England shirt, winning the game.” Especially not when the team so craves a win.
Aged 27, Salt has always remained locked-out of England’s first-choice white-ball sides: a victim of the understandable reluctance to move on from the generation who transformed limited-overs cricket. No longer. After encouraging performances throughout the white-ball tour to the Caribbean, this innings was affirmation of Salt’s suitability to the international stage: the clean-striking; the ability to maintain his balance in his shot; the smartness to pick his bowler and his shot.
On a sweltering day, Salt’s stamina was as impressive. In the 19th over, already past his century, he crunched Alzarri Joseph over long on for his ninth six; all were in the arc between deep midwicket and long off. While Salt has a fine scoop, he recognised that, on a pitch conducive to hitting through the line of the ball, he should trust in his power and timing.
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