‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Justifies England Batting Approach.
England may have been bowled out for 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 personal milestone.
“It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “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 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 undeniably Tongue’s moment, the standout bowler with a personal best figures of 5/45 as England dismissed Australia for 152.
“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a collective attack.”
“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. 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 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 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 force the issue 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 put pressure back on to the opposition, so whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to accelerate or put them into pressure.
“I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.”
Dismissing a Legend
Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he laughed off 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 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.”
The Bowler’s Perspective
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 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 proposition in the second innings.”
Australia will begin day two with 10 wickets in hand 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 green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
