‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Josh Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Defends England Aggressive Mindset.

England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, another chapter in a difficult tour on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the fourth 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 is incredibly special. To be here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”

The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, with a 46-run first-innings lead and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle 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. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a collective attack.”

“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a surface offering significant movement. 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 bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line was certainly beneficial, it helped me, for sure, with my natural angle.”

Defending the Approach

There may be a sense of dissonance 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. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a very positive brand 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 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 moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook 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 latest stage in a run of consistent performances against Steve Smith, but he dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.

“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, and obviously getting him out is a very special feeling. 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 cautious assessment at stumps from an Australian bowler, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer 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 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 best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.