🔗 Share this article ‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Justifies England Aggressive Mindset. England may have been bowled out for 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 career high. “Dreams come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG 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 set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that may now settle 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 this historic 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 bowling unit.” “Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. 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 group, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my 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 attractive brand of cricket and so on, something England did here by just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and seize the initiative.” Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 immediately put the bowlers under pressure, so the next batter in thinks it’s the right time to accelerate 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 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 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 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 obviously a nice feeling.” The Bowler’s Perspective There was a more ominous take 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 hardens up and dries out it can be nice to bat on. 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 begin day two with 10 wickets in hand and their aggressive left-hander 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 excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
England may have been bowled out for 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 career high. “Dreams come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG 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 set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that may now settle 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 this historic 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 bowling unit.” “Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. 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 group, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my 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 attractive brand of cricket and so on, something England did here by just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and seize the initiative.” Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 immediately put the bowlers under pressure, so the next batter in thinks it’s the right time to accelerate 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 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 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 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 obviously a nice feeling.” The Bowler’s Perspective There was a more ominous take 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 hardens up and dries out it can be nice to bat on. 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 begin day two with 10 wickets in hand and their aggressive left-hander 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 excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.