‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Justifies England’s Aggressive Mindset.
England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, yet another challenging episode 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 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. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well makes it even better.”
The state of the game is already stacked in Australia’s favour, with a 46-run first-innings lead and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch 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 Boxing Day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a bowling unit.”
“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 put the ball in the right 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 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 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. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a very positive brand of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and seize the initiative.”
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 whoever walks out thinks it’s the appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot.
“I think, identifying scoring areas is obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in obviously a small first innings total.”
Dismissing a Legend
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 obviously an amazing player. I’ve grown up watching him, and obviously getting him out is a huge thrill. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batter that I want to try and get out. His reputation doesn't matter. 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 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 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 resume on 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 grassy pitch did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
