‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Josh Tongue Revels in Five-Fer and Defends England’s Batting Approach.

After collapsing to a total of 110 in the MCG, another chapter in a difficult tour on this Ashes campaign, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone.

“It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, whether at home or abroad, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well makes it even better.”

The state of the game is already leaning towards Australia, 46 runs ahead on first innings and set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that could potentially ease on day two. But this was undeniably Tongue’s moment, 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 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 pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back tomorrow and repeat the performance.”

“I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a group, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller length definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.”

Justifying the Strategy

There may be a sense of dissonance 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 scraping past 100 runs at a rate of 3.7 per over. “It’s how we play our cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and force the issue and seize the initiative.”

Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely 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 whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to accelerate or put them into pressure.

“I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important 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 absolutely vital in obviously a small first innings total.”

Claiming a Prized Scalp

Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, 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 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 a great feeling.”

The Bowler’s Perspective

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

“We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket hardens up and dries out it can be nice to bat on. So I don’t want to assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to offer as much. It could be a different story in the second innings.”

Australia will resume on day two with 10 wickets in hand 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”.