‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England’s Batting Approach.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in the MCG, another chapter in a difficult tour on this Ashes campaign, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.
“Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “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 makes it even better.”
The match situation is already leaning towards Australia, with a 46-run first-innings lead and set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was undeniably Tongue’s moment, the standout bowler with a personal best figures of 5/45 as England rolled Australia out for 152.
“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, winning the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, 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 group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my natural angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be a sense of dissonance for English fans in hearing Tongue echo the familiar mantras 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. “It’s how we play our cricket. We play a very positive brand 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, arguably unwisely 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 put pressure back on to the opposition, 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 vitally important 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 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 consistent performances against the Australian captain, but he dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” 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 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 ominous take at stumps from Michael Neser, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a career-long student 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 have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story second innings.”
Australia will begin 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
