Salt stars as Bethell tastes victory in first game as England captain

PHIL Salt led the way as England as beat Ireland by four wickets in the first match of a three-game T20 series in Dublin yesterday.

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The England opener hit 89 off 46 deliveries but missed out on what would have been his second consecutive century when he was caught by Ross Adair off the bowling of Graham Hume with the final delivery of the 15th over.

England were captained by Jacob Bethell for the first time, with the 21-year-old hitting 24 runs before a swipe to extra cover just as he appeared to be getting into the swing of things

In what was their first international of any kind since a T20 win over West Indies on 15 June, Ireland’s will have felt their total, which featured half-centuries for Harry Tector and Lorean Tucker, was a competitive one.

However, five days after their stunning 304-2 against South Africa on a record-breaking night in Manchester, a much-changed England began their reply in emphatic fashion before Ireland battled back for some late wickets.