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

England may have been bowled out for 110 in Melbourne, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on the current Ashes tour, 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 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, if it’s home or away, and this is incredibly 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, 46 runs ahead on first innings 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 personal best figures of 5/45 as England dismissed Australia for 152.

“It’s been an amazing day of Test match cricket on Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb 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 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 reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line 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 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. “It’s how we play our 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, 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 put pressure back on to the opposition, so whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to obviously shift a gear 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 obviously crucial 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 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 a great feeling.”

A View from the Other End

There was a more ominous take at close of play from an Australian bowler, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a career-long student of the Melbourne pitch.

“We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket compacts and loses moisture 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 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 most popular 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. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.