Phil Salt made his England debut in 2021. Born in Bodelwyddan, raised in Barbados, back in Wales for the summer as a genuine England star. It's been quite a cricketing journey for Phil Salt, the big-hitting England T20 international who's preparing to captain Welsh Fire men in The Hundred.

The 29-year-old leads a team that includes former England captain Joe Root and ex-Test batter Chris Woakes, with their campaign starting with a men's and women's double-header at Southern Brave on 22 July. Salt would seem a natural fit as skipper given his heritage - born in north Wales to a Welsh mother, raised initially in St Asaph - the birthplace of Welsh football icon Ian Rush - with a clear sense of his heritage despite living away for almost 20 years.

"When the auctions were happening earlier this year, it felt like a no-brainer to join Welsh Fire," says Salt, the top men's scorer in The Hundred with 1,138 runs since the competition started in 2021. "I'm very proud of being a North Walian, of being born and brought up in that part of the world until I was 11.

"When I moved to Barbados, because of my dad's job, it was a bit of a job trying to explain to people where I was from. The other kids would say to me 'north Wales? Where's that?!' I was giving out geography lessons aged 11. But I always felt Welsh. 100%.

What has changed in The Hundred for 2026? Salt goes into Welsh Fire's new campaign having played a key role for England as an opening batter in their 4-0 T20 series win over India. The Lancashire batter, who top-scored in the third T20 with 70, has been a mainstay of white-ball English cricket since his debut in 2021. Facing Pakistan in a one-day international in Cardiff made him the first Welshman to represent England since former Glamorgan pace bowler Simon Jones in 2005.

Salt, though, says his Welsh mum was not entirely comfortable with him pulling on the England shirt in the first place. "Being a proud Welshman, but obviously representing England... sometimes it's a bit of a grey area," he said. "[Mum was] always very supportive, got behind the boys, but that's about where it stops. I've got to be careful sometimes with how I word it."

It is possible Salt might have ended with a red Welsh dragon on his shirt instead of three lions had he stuck to his first sporting love as a child. "As a kid, I was more into my football than anything else - I played for Denbigh Town and Rhyl," he said. "I was a very honest footballer, shall we say - sitting in the middle of the park, doing a lot of running - I wasn't breaking any records.

"But I started playing cricket for North-East Wales Under-11s as an under-age player. That was like getting a ticket to a chocolate factory to me, it was unbelievable. Then I moved to Barbados and cricket kind of became the focus. Any time the West Indies were playing in Barbados, we'd go and watch them. It's ridiculous, the talent out there. They must produce the most cricketers in the world per square foot.

A cricket scholarship in Surrey brought Salt back to the UK at 15, before a professional breakthrough at Sussex and then on to Lancashire and the Indian Premier League. Welsh Fire men's and women's teams both finished bottom in 2025.

Top run-scorer, twice a finalist: Salt certainly has pedigree in The Hundred. The Welshman reached the final with Manchester Originals in 2022 and 2023 but believes he can go one step further by sparking a dormant Welsh Fire into life. The Cardiff-based team are the worst-performing franchise in the tournament's short history, with both the men's and women's teams finishing rock bottom last year. Neither side has won the tournament and the men are yet to reach the play-offs, but with tech billionaire Sanjay Govil buying a 50% share of the team for £40m there is hope that this year could be different.

"Historically, Welsh Fire haven't done that well, they haven't given fans much to get excited about, but I see this as a good opportunity to change things. It excites me," said Salt. Salt said the Sophia Gardens pitch, along with dressing room music from indie-rock band Blossoms, should be conducive to high run-scoring. Two other 2026 recruits - Glamorgan pair Ben Kellaway and Asa Tribe - will bring that local knowledge and a Welsh heartbeat to the team.

"We've got so much experience in the dressing room," said Salt. "There's been a lot of talk about the wicket - it looks like a really good place to play cricket when you look at the Glamorgan scores this season. We've got to start fast, and play lots of front-foot, aggressive cricket. "Can we win the competition? Definitely. I don't see why not."

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