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

After collapsing to a total of 110 in the MCG, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on this Ashes campaign, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.

“Dreams come true,” Tongue said at the end of a hectic 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 match situation is already leaning towards Australia, with a 46-run first-innings lead and batting again on an notoriously lively surface 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 dismissed Australia for 152.

“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on Boxing Day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a bowling unit.”

“And obviously they’ve bowled well as well. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just regroup tomorrow and repeat the performance.”

“I feel like if you bowl in good areas, which I felt like we did today as a bowling unit, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line was certainly beneficial, it helped me, definitely, 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 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 3.7 runs an over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a highly aggressive style of cricket. We try and put pressure on the opposition and take it back to them.”

Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 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 whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to accelerate 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 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 consistent performances 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 watched him as a kid, and dismissing him is a very special feeling. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batsman 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 stumps 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 move real fast 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 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 green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.