🔗 Share this article ‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Fer and Justifies England Aggressive Mindset. Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in the MCG, yet another challenging episode on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the fourth Test was also a career high. “It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, 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 makes it even better.” The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings 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 rolled Australia out for 152. “It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a collective attack.” “And obviously they’ve bowled well as well. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back tomorrow and repeat the performance.” “I feel like if you bowl in good 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, for sure, with my natural angle.” Defending the Approach There may be a sense of dissonance 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 very positive brand of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and take it back to them.” Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to put pressure back on to the opposition, so whoever walks out thinks it’s the appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them into pressure. “I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is obviously crucial 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 absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.” Claiming a Prized Scalp Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he laughed off suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him. “No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, 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 a great feeling.” The Bowler’s Perspective 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 MCG surface. “We know it can deteriorate quickly 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 assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in the MCG, yet another challenging episode on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the fourth Test was also a career high. “It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, 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 makes it even better.” The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings 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 rolled Australia out for 152. “It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a collective attack.” “And obviously they’ve bowled well as well. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back tomorrow and repeat the performance.” “I feel like if you bowl in good 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, for sure, with my natural angle.” Defending the Approach There may be a sense of dissonance 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 very positive brand of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and take it back to them.” Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to put pressure back on to the opposition, so whoever walks out thinks it’s the appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them into pressure. “I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is obviously crucial 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 absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.” Claiming a Prized Scalp Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he laughed off suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him. “No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, 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 a great feeling.” The Bowler’s Perspective 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 MCG surface. “We know it can deteriorate quickly 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 assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. 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 local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.