On his debut at the age of 16, he became the youngest scorer of a half-century in the Sunday League, scoring 70 not out against Essex.
At 18, he became the youngest player to score a double hundred in the Championship, and in the same year, received the NBC Denis Compton Award.
The 210* was not his highest score however; he has passed 200 six other times including a triple century against Essex in 1999 at the age of 21.
While captain, he continued to score at an average of over 40, but in 2008, he chose to step down from the role prematurely to concentrate on his batting and boost his chances of playing for England.
[4] In January 2010, Sales was picked along with new teammate James Middlebrook to represent the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Durham in Abu Dhabi.