‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Aggressive Mindset.
England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on this Ashes campaign, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone.
“It’s a dream come true,” he stated at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “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 batting 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 was a fantastic day of Test 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 an amazing job as a collective attack.”
“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 group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length was certainly beneficial, it helped me, definitely, with my angle.”
Defending the Approach
There may be something jarring 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 a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and force the issue and take it back to them.”
Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely 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 the next batter in thinks it’s the appropriate moment to accelerate or put them into pressure.
“I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important 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 absolutely vital 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 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 obviously getting him out is a huge thrill. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batter that I want to try and get out. His reputation doesn't matter. My primary objective is to get the batter out at the other end. So yeah, it’s obviously a nice feeling.”
The Bowler’s Perspective
There was a more cautious assessment at stumps from Michael Neser, a key 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 compacts and loses moisture it can be good for batting. So I don’t want to assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to offer as much. 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 grassy pitch did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.