🔗 Share this article ‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England’s Aggressive Mindset. After collapsing to a total of 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 personal milestone. “It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a hectic day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, 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 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 could potentially ease on day two. But this was undeniably Tongue’s moment, the standout bowler with a personal best figures of 5/45 as England rolled Australia out 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 putting the Aussies in to bat, 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 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 length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.” Justifying the Strategy 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 just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of 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 real direction on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely 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 appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot. “I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is obviously crucial 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 a low first-innings score.” Dismissing a Legend Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, but he laughed off 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. 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 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 nice to bat on. So I don’t want to assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story second innings.” Australia will resume on day two with all wickets intact and their aggressive left-hander 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 too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
After collapsing to a total of 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 personal milestone. “It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a hectic day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, 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 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 could potentially ease on day two. But this was undeniably Tongue’s moment, the standout bowler with a personal best figures of 5/45 as England rolled Australia out 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 putting the Aussies in to bat, 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 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 length definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.” Justifying the Strategy 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 just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of 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 real direction on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely 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 appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot. “I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is obviously crucial 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 a low first-innings score.” Dismissing a Legend Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, but he laughed off 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. 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 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 nice to bat on. So I don’t want to assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story second innings.” Australia will resume on day two with all wickets intact and their aggressive left-hander 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 too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.