Phil Salt’s quickest and highest Twenty20 hundred for England launched the third greatest ever males’s whole and a smashing 146-run win over South Africa on Friday (September 12, 2025).
Salt’s 141 not out and Jos Buttler’s 83 propped up England’s 304-2, which included 18 sixes and 30 boundaries.
South Africa adopted with resolve however was 64-3 after the powerplay and misplaced captain Aiden Markram for a team-high 41 off 20 within the eighth over when the consequence turned inevitable. The Proteas have been all out for 158 within the seventeenth over.
It was their heaviest T20 loss by runs and England’s greatest win by runs.
“That was really good fun,” Salt advised broadcaster Sky Sports. “A personal milestone but the fact we got 300 and won by such a big margin, I can’t have asked for much more.” The three-match collection goes to a tiebreaker on Sunday (September 14, 2025) in Nottingham.
“With the batting lineup we have got there are not many heights we can’t reach,” England captain Harry Brook stated. “Every must-win game we have now leading to the T20 World Cup (in February) is awesome preparation for us.”
The Proteas selected to bowl first in hope of utilizing the moisture within the air, however all they caught was lightning from openers Salt and Buttler at their membership floor, Old Trafford.
Salt clobbered the sport’s first three deliveries to the boundary off Marco Jansen however was quickly overtaken by Buttler.
A fourth consecutive boundary introduced up Buttler’s 50 in 18 balls, the third quickest half-century for England.
He and Salt crashed 100 within the powerplay with a ball to spare, solely the third time that is been finished in a males’s T20.
Buttler was on 83 from 30 balls and had Liam Livingstone’s quickest England T20 century in 40 balls in his grasp. Then he hit straight to the fielder at deep sq. leg at 126-1 within the eighth over and Old Trafford rose to applaud.
Salt reached his 50 in 19 balls, yet another ball than Buttler.
But Salt broke Livingstone’s quickest document by one in 39 balls and the group was again on its ft. The century was Salt’s fourth for England. No different Englishman has multiple, and solely Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma (5 every) have extra T20 lots of.
Salt’s hundred got here in a 23-run over bowled by Kagiso Rabada, who overstepped twice and bowled extensive twice.
Salt handed his and England’s highest T20 rating of 119 from December 2023, and survived being out caught on 126 as a result of Kwena Maphaka stepped on the rope at long-on, giving up Salt’s sixth six.
England arrived at the final over needing 16 runs to interrupt 300 and finally received there thanks to a different no ball by Rabada. His 70 runs conceded have been essentially the most by a South African in males’s T20s.
The solely increased totals have been Zimbabwe’s 344-4 in opposition to Gambia in 2024 and Nepal’s 314-3 versus Mongolia in 2023. England eclipsed the very best whole by an ICC full member, India’s 297-6 versus Bangladesh in 2024.
Salt completed unbeaten on 141 from 60 balls, with eight sixes and 15 boundaries. Brook was with him on 41 off 21.
The bowlers then feasted on the strain on South Africa and Jofra Archer took 3-25, Sam Curran 2-11, and Will Jacks two at the loss of life.
