Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie is sticking to what he knows best in recruiting Phil Salt

Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie has targeted English batsman Phil Salt to join Sussex T20 teammates Alex Carey and Rashid Khan at Adelaide Oval in this summer’s BBL.

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Jason Gillespie plans to unleash Twenty20 dasher Phil Salt as the Adelaide Strikers boss brings the best of Sussex Down Under to fill a 2019-20 import slot.

The Advertiser can reveal Salt will link up with County teammates Alex Carey and Rashid Khan at Adelaide Oval this summer pending final contractual agreement.

Salt smashed 355 runs for Gillespie’s Sharks at a 172 strike rate en route to last season’s Vitality Blast final.

Salt, 23, replaces another heavy hitter — Colin Ingram — in the Strikers set-up out to atone for a disappointing 2018-19 title defence. Welsh-born Salt earnt an England squad call up against Pakistan in Cardiff last May.

Phil Salt, third from left, during his stint at Adelaide University Cricket Club in 2018 with Ben Wakim, Michael Burgess, Sam Kerber, Hamish Martin, Ben Ellis and James McCollum. Picture: Tom Huntley

Gillespie’s Sussex lead the South division of the English T20 competition with Salt’s 334 runs coming at a 157 strike rate across 13 games. Australian keeper-batsman Carey has the next best strike rate at 151 with 256 runs at an average of 42.

Carey and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid are expected to miss Sussex’s T20 Blast finals across September 21-22 on domestic and international duty. South Australia will require Carey to train ahead of its September 24 Marsh Cup opener against Queensland at Allan Border Field.

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Salt has kicked on impressively since spending nine weeks with the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy and representing University between January and March last year.

He will occupy a crucial batting slot for a Strikers unit expected to see little of skipper Travis Head and Carey this season due to Australian commitments. Salt and former Australian all-rounder Cameron White will add depth missing from the Strikers batting last summer.

Jon Wells and Ingram were the only Strikers to average over 30 who exceeded 100 runs last season.