‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Justifies England Aggressive Mindset.

England may have been bowled out for 110 in Melbourne, yet another challenging episode 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, if it’s home or away, 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 state of the game is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 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 star performer with a career best five for 45 as England rolled Australia out for 152.

“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on this historic 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 surface offering significant movement. 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 group, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my natural angle.”

Justifying the Strategy

There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue echo the familiar mantras about putting pressure on their opponents, playing an positive style 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 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 right time 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 cross-format success against the Australian captain, but he dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him.

“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. 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 obviously a nice feeling.”

A View from the Other End

There was a more cautious assessment at stumps from an Australian bowler, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the MCG surface.

“We know it can move real fast 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 have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story second innings.”

Australia will begin day two with all wickets intact and their aggressive left-hander at the crease, alongside surely one of the best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.