🔗 Share this article ‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Justifies England Aggressive Mindset. After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the fourth Test was also a personal milestone. “Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “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 alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle 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 was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did an amazing 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 come back tomorrow and do the same again.” “I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a bowling unit, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line was certainly beneficial, 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 repeated the playbook chapter headings about putting pressure on their opponents, playing an attractive brand 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, 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 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 moving around. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial 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 “hold an advantage” over him. “No, he’s obviously an amazing player. 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 primary objective is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s a great 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 career-long student 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 offer as much. It could be a different story 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 best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the fourth Test was also a personal milestone. “Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “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 alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle 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 was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did an amazing 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 come back tomorrow and do the same again.” “I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a bowling unit, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line was certainly beneficial, 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 repeated the playbook chapter headings about putting pressure on their opponents, playing an attractive brand 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, 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 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 moving around. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial 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 “hold an advantage” over him. “No, he’s obviously an amazing player. 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 primary objective is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s a great 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 career-long student 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 offer as much. It could be a different story 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 best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.