‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Justifies England Aggressive Mindset.

After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, 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.

“Dreams come true,” Tongue said at the end of a hectic day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, if it’s home or away, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”

The state of the game is already stacked in Australia’s favour, with a 46-run first-innings lead and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, 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.”

“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 bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line was certainly beneficial, it helped me, definitely, with my angle.”

Defending the Approach

There may be a sense of dissonance 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 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 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 on the back foot.

“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 Harry Brook batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in obviously a small first innings total.”

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 “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. His reputation doesn't matter. My main goal 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 ominous take at stumps from an Australian bowler, 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 have the preconceptions 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 grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.