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

England may have been bowled out for 110 in Melbourne, 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.

“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, if it’s home or away, and this obviously feels very special. To be here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with all my family in as well makes it even better.”

The state of the game 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 undeniably Tongue’s moment, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England dismissed Australia 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 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 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 reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my natural angle.”

Defending the Approach

There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue echo the familiar mantras about applying scoreboard pressure, playing an positive style of cricket and so on, something England did here by scraping past 100 runs at a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of cricket. We play a very positive brand 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. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to immediately put the bowlers under pressure, so whoever walks out 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 doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted exceptionally 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 most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against Steve Smith, but he dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him.

“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, and dismissing him is a huge thrill. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batsman 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 cautious assessment at stumps 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 hardens up and dries out it can be good for batting. So I don’t want to have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to offer as much. It could be a different proposition in the second innings.”

Australia will begin day two with 10 wickets in hand and their aggressive left-hander at the crease, alongside surely one of the best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the local boy Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.