England's Jacob Bethell hits for six during the First Men's International Twenty20 match between Ireland and England, at Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday Sept. 17, 2025. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)
September 17, 2025 - 10:12 AM
DUBLIN (AP) — Opener Phil Salt smashed 89 runs as England beat Ireland by four wickets with 14 balls remaining in the first T20 to give Jacob Bethell a winning start to his record-breaking captaincy on Wednesday.
Ireland scored 196-3 in its 20 overs and England reached 197-6 in 17.4 overs in a victory for Bethell, who at age 21 became the youngest man to lead England in an international as he stands in for Harry Brook.
Salt, less than a week after his remarkable 141 not out against South Africa, savaged his 89 runs off 46 balls — including 10 fours and four sixes — to take a decisive chunk out of a challenging target at Malahide.
Having won the toss and sent the hosts in, Bethell saw Ireland captain Paul Stirling and Ross Adair share an attacking opening stand of 57. Both men holed out to spin — Liam Dawson claimed Adair's wicket and Adil Rashid dismissed Stirling.
Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector picked up seamlessly with a 123-run partnership off just 68 balls. Tector finished 61 not out, with Tucker nicking Jamie Overton’s penultimate delivery of the innings behind for 55.
The second T20 of the three-match series is on Friday at the same venue.
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