‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Batting Approach.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in Melbourne, another chapter in a difficult tour on this Ashes campaign, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone.
“It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a hectic day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, if it’s home or away, and this is incredibly special. To be here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”
The match situation is already leaning towards Australia, 46 runs ahead on first innings and set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the standout bowler 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 putting the Aussies in to bat, 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 repeat the performance.”
“I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my 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 positive style of cricket and so on, something England did here by scraping past 100 runs at a rate of 3.7 per over. “It’s how we play our cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and seize the initiative.”
Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely given they were dismissed inside 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. 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, identifying scoring areas is obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in obviously a small first innings total.”
Claiming a Prized Scalp
Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.
“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. I’ve grown up watching him, and obviously getting him out is a very special feeling. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batsman 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.”
A View from the Other End
There was a more cautious assessment at stumps from Michael Neser, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the Melbourne pitch.
“We know it can move real fast 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 assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
