Salt aiming to fill Stokes void in second ODI vs South Africa

Phil Salt has the chance to shake up England’s stuttering batting when he attempts to fill the giant shoes of Ben Stokes on Friday.

The Lancashire opener is set to play on his home ground of Old Trafford as England turn to the first of their bulging collection of big-hitting reserves to arrest the apparent decline in their white-ball hitting.

The change for the second one-day international against South Africa may have been enforced because of the shock retirement of Stokes but there is no question England need the infusion of new blood Salt can bring.

And the explosive Salt knows he has to take his first real chance in a full-strength England line-up after impressing on his 50-over bow in last year’s emergency squad against Pakistan and then in the Netherlands earlier this season.

‘I just have to take this opportunity now,’ said Salt on Thursday. ‘I’ve been on the fringes for a while and I want to get in there and show people what I can do.’

Salt has made all six of his 50-over appearances for England at the top of the order and has a highly impressive average of 58.67 with a strike-rate of 132.33, admittedly with three productive appearances in Amsterdam swelling the numbers.

But he looks set for a middle order role on Friday, as England keep faith with Jason Roy in the long-standing opening partnership with Jonny Bairstow that has provided inspiration for Salt.

‘I’m slotting in wherever the chance comes,’ said Salt. ‘We have the best opening partnership in 50-over cricket. There’s no doubt about that. Look at the numbers and the way they’ve changed how the game is played.

‘There’s a lot of people in international cricket who want to copy them and follow how they play. They’ve set the bar for a few years now and