‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Batting Approach.
England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, yet another challenging episode on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.
“It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, if it’s home or away, 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 standout bowler with a career best five for 45 as England rolled Australia out for 152.
“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on this historic day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, winning the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did an amazing 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 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 length was certainly beneficial, it helped me, definitely, with my natural 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. “It’s how we play our 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 bowled out in less than 30 overs. “There wasn’t really a big chat at all. I feel like we want to immediately put the bowlers under pressure, so the next batter in thinks it’s the appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them into pressure.
“I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in obviously a small first innings total.”
Dismissing a Legend
Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.
“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, and dismissing him is a huge thrill. 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 primary objective is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s obviously a nice feeling.”
A View from the Other End
There was a more cautious assessment at close of play from an Australian bowler, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a career-long student of the Melbourne pitch.
“We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket compacts and loses moisture it can be nice to bat on. So I don’t want to have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different proposition in the second innings.”
Australia will resume on day two with 10 wickets in hand 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 concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
