‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Defends England Aggressive Mindset.
England may have been bowled out for 110 in Melbourne, another chapter in a difficult tour on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.
“Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, whether at home or abroad, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”
The state of the game is already leaning towards Australia, 46 runs ahead on first innings and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a personal best figures of 5/45 as England dismissed Australia for 152.
“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a collective attack.”
“And obviously they’ve bowled well as well. It’s a surface offering significant movement. But we’ve got to just regroup tomorrow and repeat the performance.”
“I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be a sense of dissonance for English fans in hearing Tongue repeated the playbook chapter headings about putting pressure on their opponents, playing an attractive brand of cricket and so on, something England did here by just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and take it back to them.”
Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were bowled out in less than 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to put pressure back on to the opposition, so the next batter in thinks it’s the appropriate moment to accelerate or put them on the back foot.
“I think, identifying scoring areas is obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted really well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.”
Claiming a Prized Scalp
Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, but he laughed off suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him.
“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. I watched him as a kid, and dismissing him is a very special feeling. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batter that I want to try and get out. His reputation doesn't matter. My primary objective is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s a great feeling.”
The Bowler’s Perspective
There was a more cautious assessment at close of play from Michael Neser, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a career-long student of the MCG surface.
“We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket hardens up and dries out it can be nice to bat on. So I don’t want to have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to offer as much. It could be a different story second innings.”
Australia will begin day two with all wickets intact and Travis Head at the crease, alongside surely one of the most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.