Phil Salt’s path home from Barbados to Welsh Fire captain in The Hundred

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.

Speaking at a Compare the Market event for The Hundred, 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.”