‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Aggressive Mindset.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in the MCG, yet another challenging episode on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.
“Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, if it’s home or away, and this obviously feels very 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 batting 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 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, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, 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 bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue echo the familiar mantras 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 seize the initiative.”
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 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 exceptionally 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 most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he dismissed 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 huge thrill. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batsman that I want to try and get out. His reputation doesn't matter. 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 ominous take at stumps from Michael Neser, 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 hardens up and dries out 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 proposition in the 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 grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
