‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Aggressive Mindset.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in the MCG, another chapter in a difficult tour on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the fourth Test was also a career high.
“It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a hectic day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well makes it even better.”
The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England rolled Australia out for 152.
“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a bowling unit.”
“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a surface offering significant movement. But we’ve got to just come back tomorrow and do the same again.”
“I feel like if you put the ball in the right areas, which I felt like we did today as a group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line was certainly beneficial, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue repeated the playbook chapter headings about applying scoreboard pressure, playing an positive style of cricket and so on, something England did here by just about crawling past three figures at a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a very positive brand of cricket. We try and force the issue and take it back to them.”
Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 30 overs. “There wasn’t really a big chat at all. I feel like we want to put pressure back on to the opposition, so the next batter in thinks it’s the right time to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot.
“I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in obviously a small first innings total.”
Dismissing a Legend
Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of consistent performances against the Australian captain, but he laughed off suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.
“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. I watched him as a kid, and obviously getting him out is a very special feeling. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batter that I want to try and get out. It doesn’t really matter who he is. My main goal is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s obviously a nice feeling.”
The Bowler’s Perspective
There was a more ominous take at close of play from Michael Neser, a leading 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 good for batting. So I don’t want to have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story in the second innings.”
Australia will begin day two with all wickets intact and their aggressive left-hander at the crease, alongside surely one of the most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
