🔗 Share this article ‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Revels in Five-Fer and Defends England’s Aggressive Mindset. After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, yet another challenging episode on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone. “Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, whether at home or abroad, 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 match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings 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 career best five for 45 as England rolled Australia out 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 a superb 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 repeat the performance.” “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 length was certainly beneficial, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.” Defending the Approach There may be something jarring 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 just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “It’s how we play our cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and seize the initiative.” Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 put pressure back on to the opposition, 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 moving around. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in a low first-innings score.” Claiming a Prized Scalp 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 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 ominous take at close of play from an Australian bowler, a leading 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 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 proposition in the second innings.” Australia will resume on day two with all wickets intact and Travis Head at the crease, alongside surely one of the most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, yet another challenging episode on the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone. “Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, whether at home or abroad, 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 match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings 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 career best five for 45 as England rolled Australia out 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 a superb 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 repeat the performance.” “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 length was certainly beneficial, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.” Defending the Approach There may be something jarring 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 just about crawling past three figures at 3.7 runs an over. “It’s how we play our cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and seize the initiative.” Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 put pressure back on to the opposition, 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 moving around. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in a low first-innings score.” Claiming a Prized Scalp 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 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 ominous take at close of play from an Australian bowler, a leading 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 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 proposition in the second innings.” Australia will resume on day two with all wickets intact and Travis Head at the crease, alongside surely one of the most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.