‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Defends 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 Boxing Day Test was also a career high.
“It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, whether at home or abroad, 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 stacked in Australia’s favour, 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 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. 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 surface offering significant movement. But we’ve got to just regroup 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 bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my natural angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue echo the familiar mantras 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 take it back to them.”
Tongue said there was no real direction 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 right time to accelerate 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 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.”
Claiming a Prized Scalp
Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, but he laughed off suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him.
“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. 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.”
The Bowler’s Perspective
There was a more cautious assessment at stumps from Michael Neser, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the MCG surface.
“We know it can move real fast on day one and day two, then when the wicket compacts and loses moisture it can be good for batting. So I don’t want to assume 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
