Phil worth his Salt at top of the order for new skipper Bethell

PHIL Salt made the difference as England chased down 197 in their first T20 against Ireland, handing Jacob Bethell a winning start to his record-breaking captaincy.

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Bethell, who at 21 became the youngest man to lead England in an international, owed a four-wicket victory to Salt's top-order fireworks in Malahide.

Six days on from his remarkable 141 not out against South Africa, Salt savaged 89 off 46 balls to take a decisive chunk out of a challenging target and land the man of the match award.

He may have fallen short of his fifth T20 century - and a three-way tie with world record holders Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma - but his propulsive hitting carried England over the line.

They had earlier turned in a modest show with the ball, taking just three wickets as the hosts ran up 196, and their top scorer after Salt was Jos Buttler with 28.

Needing just under 10 an over at the start of their chase, England set their stall out by taking 11 off the first. The bowler, Matthew Humphreys, might soon have been congratulating himself for getting off lightly as Salt and Buttler bolted through the gears.