🔗 Share this article ‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Aggressive Mindset. England may have been bowled out for 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 career high. “It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, if it’s home or away, and this is incredibly special. To be here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 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 batting again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England dismissed Australia for 152. “It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, winning the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, 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 come back 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 reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length was certainly beneficial, 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 putting pressure on their opponents, 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 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, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 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 into pressure. “I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.” Dismissing a Legend Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of consistent performances against the Australian captain, 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 very special feeling. 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.” The Bowler’s Perspective There was a more cautious assessment at close of play 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 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 in the second innings.” Australia will resume on 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
England may have been bowled out for 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 career high. “It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, if it’s home or away, and this is incredibly special. To be here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 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 batting again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England dismissed Australia for 152. “It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, winning the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, 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 come back 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 reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length was certainly beneficial, 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 putting pressure on their opponents, 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 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, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 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 into pressure. “I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.” Dismissing a Legend Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of consistent performances against the Australian captain, 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 very special feeling. 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.” The Bowler’s Perspective There was a more cautious assessment at close of play 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 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 in the second innings.” Australia will resume on 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.