England's Welsh Mancunian brought up in Barbados

There will be more than one homecoming in Barbados this week.

Jofra Archer's return will take the headlines. He and Chris Jordan are in the country of their birth as part of England's squad for their T20 World Cup defence.

But batter Phil Salt is another with Caribbean ties.

"I played with Jofra from a very young age," Salt says. "We would have been 11 or 12.

"He'd take the new ball, bowl seamers, then he would come back later on and bowl leggies.

"In the last 10 or 15 overs he'd be whinging for the gloves off me so normally I'd field for the last bit of the innings, have a bowl and he'd be keeping."

These days Salt's disputes with Archer are over football.

Salt is England's Welsh opener with Mancunian roots, who spent six years of his childhood in Barbados after his property developer father relocated for work.

He is a lover of the The Smiths and the Manchester music scene and is a die-hard Manchester City fan.

His grandfather ran a greengrocers near to where Etihad Stadium now stands.

Even the number on the back of his England shirt, 61, is a reference to City’s 6-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2011 – the day of Mario Balotelli's 'Why Always Me?' celebration.

Archer and Jordan, meanwhile, are both United supporters.

"CJ's a good one," says Salt. "He always bites."

Salt had unsuccessful trials with football clubs himself in his youth and briefly dabbled with tennis - his brother playing to a decent level and later becoming a full-time coach.

"He was one of the more ruthless older brothers," Salt says. "There were no half-volleys.

"I played a couple of tournaments but I couldn't get on with the non-team element."

But opening for England at the Kensington Oval on Tuesday, when the defending champions begin their campaign against Scotland, will be a life going full circle.

Salt played club cricket nearby and was in the stands when captain Paul Collingwood lifted the trophy 14 years ago at the very same ground, as England beat Australia to win their first men's T20 title.

"Colly came past with the trophy and said 'here you are, touch it while you can' as he was going to do press," Salt says.

"That was a cool moment, very special for a kid. It has always stuck with me."

Collingwood was part of the coaching staff when England won the trophy for a second time in 2022 in Melbourne, with Salt part of the squad.

He played in the semi-final and final after an injury to Dawid Malan but last year was left out of the 50-over World Cup squad when an aging England side produced a dismal defence of their ctitle.

"I felt for the boys out there at the time," Salt says.

"I watched almost all of it. Most of my afternoons were spent watching that."

Salt scored 10 from nine balls in the 2022 final and did not bat in the semi-final

Six months on, Salt returns to Barbados as one of England's key men, the batter tasked with giving England a rapid start.

He has risen to second in the International Cricket Council’s batting rankings and in December made consecutive hundreds against West Indies in the Caribbean.

It is form that has put him in contention for a fulfilling his hopes of a Test debut.

"I love playing red-ball cricket," he told the Telegraph. "I feel it is something I am good at."

Salt is also now an Indian Premier League winner.

Having gone unsold in the auction, the opener was planning for the start of the County Championship season when a call came from Kolkata Knight Riders, who needed an injury replacement.

In 12 games, he scored 435 runs at a strike rate of 182, helping propel KKR into the play-offs as their second-highest run-scorer before departing prior to the knockout stages for England's series against Pakistan.

That all came while keeping up with City's Premier League title run-in back home.

"There were a few late bedtimes," he says.

"Luckily the IPL games don't start until 7:30/8pm and you don't get back to the hotel till 1am or 2am.

"Your body clock switches almost to English time so it's actually not as hard as you'd think."

Salt's early departure from the IPL meant he missed missed KKR's victory in the final.

It did mean, however, he was in the UK for the tense final day of the Premier League season when City held their nerve to beat West Ham 3-1 and win the title.

Salt watched it hidden away at England team-mate Jonny Bairstow's barbecue.

"We went two up and then I thought I'd go back outside," he says.

"Then they got one back and I just had an eye it from the outside. I didn't really want to ride the wave too much."

The T20 World Cup is not the only major tournament England will compete for this summer.

The cricket coincides with football's European Championship from 14 June, although Wales failed to qualify - and Salt will not be cheering on England.

"I'll let the boys have their day in the sun," he says. "We'll be back."

For now, though, it is Salt who is back.

Back at the Kensington Oval, where the World Cup final will also be played in four week’s time.

"I'm very fond of the place," he says.

This could be Salt's time in the sun.