🔗 Share this article ‘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 this Ashes campaign, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high. “It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.” The state of the game is already leaning towards Australia, 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 personal best figures of 5/45 as England dismissed Australia 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.” “Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back 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 bowling unit, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.” Justifying the Strategy There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue repeated the playbook chapter headings about applying scoreboard pressure, 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. “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 obviously shift a gear 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 doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Brookie 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 dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” 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 batter 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 a great feeling.” A View from the Other End There was a more cautious assessment at close of play from Michael Neser, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the Melbourne pitch. “We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket hardens up and dries out it can be good for batting. So I don’t want to assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in Melbourne, another chapter in a difficult tour on this Ashes campaign, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high. “It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.” The state of the game is already leaning towards Australia, 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 personal best figures of 5/45 as England dismissed Australia 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.” “Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back 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 bowling unit, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.” Justifying the Strategy There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue repeated the playbook chapter headings about applying scoreboard pressure, 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. “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 obviously shift a gear 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 doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Brookie 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 dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” 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 batter 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 a great feeling.” A View from the Other End There was a more cautious assessment at close of play from Michael Neser, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the Melbourne pitch. “We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket hardens up and dries out it can be good for batting. So I don’t want to assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.