‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Justifies England Batting Approach.
After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, 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 personal milestone.
“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, if it’s home or away, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”
The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, with a 46-run first-innings lead and set to bat again on an alarmingly sporty pitch 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 dismissed Australia for 152.
“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on this historic day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did an amazing job as a collective attack.”
“And obviously they’ve bowled well as well. 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 get your rewards. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.”
Justifying the Strategy
There may be a sense of dissonance 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 scraping past 100 runs at a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of 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, perhaps inadvisably given they were bowled out in less than 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to immediately put the bowlers under pressure, so whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot.
“I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook 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 consistent performances against Steve Smith, but he dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.
“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. I watched him as a kid, 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. 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 a great 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 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 good for batting. 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 second innings.”
Australia will resume on day two with all wickets intact and Travis Head at the crease, alongside surely one of the best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
