‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England’s Aggressive Mindset.

England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, 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 hectic day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, whether at home or abroad, and this is incredibly special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”

The match situation is already leaning towards Australia, 46 runs ahead on first innings and set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was undeniably Tongue’s moment, 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. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing 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 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 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.”

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 scraping past 100 runs at 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and force the issue 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 into pressure.

“I think, identifying scoring areas is obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in a low first-innings score.”

Dismissing a Legend

Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of consistent performances against Steve Smith, but he laughed off suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.

“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I’ve grown up watching him, and dismissing him is a huge thrill. 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.”

The Bowler’s Perspective

There was a more ominous take at stumps from an Australian bowler, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a career-long student 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 have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story in the 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 most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.