‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Batting Approach.

After collapsing to a total of 110 in the MCG, another chapter in a difficult tour on this Ashes campaign, but for Josh Tongue 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. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, 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, 46 runs ahead on first innings and batting again on an notoriously lively surface that may now settle on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England dismissed Australia for 152.

“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on this historic day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, securing the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did a superb job as a bowling unit.”

“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a pitch which is doing quite a bit. But we’ve got to just come back tomorrow and do the same again.”

“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 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 something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue echo the familiar mantras 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 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 seize the initiative.”

Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably given they were dismissed inside 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to put pressure back on to the opposition, so the next batter in thinks it’s the right time to accelerate or put them on the back foot.

“I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted really 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 cross-format success 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 dismissing him is a very special feeling. But yeah, to me, it’s just another batsman 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 obviously a nice feeling.”

A View from the Other End

There was a more ominous take at close of play from Michael Neser, 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 hardens up and dries out 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 story in the second innings.”

Australia will resume on day two with 10 wickets in hand and Travis Head 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 brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.