‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Justifies England’s Aggressive Mindset.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in Melbourne, another chapter in a difficult tour on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the fourth Test was also a career high.
“Dreams 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, 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 state of the game is already leaning towards Australia, with a 46-run first-innings lead and set to bat again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a personal best figures of 5/45 as England dismissed Australia for 152.
“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on this historic day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, winning the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did an amazing job as a collective attack.”
“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 do the same again.”
“I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be something jarring 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. “It’s how we play our 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 specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely given they were dismissed inside 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 appropriate moment 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 Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in obviously a small first innings total.”
Claiming a Prized Scalp
Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of consistent performances against the Australian captain, but he dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.
“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, and obviously getting him out is a very special feeling. 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 main goal 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 Melbourne pitch.
“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 assume 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 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 grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
