‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Wicket Haul and Defends England Batting Approach.
Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in Melbourne, yet another challenging episode on this Ashes campaign, but for the young seamer day one of the fourth Test was also a personal milestone.
“Dreams come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, if it’s home or away, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well is the icing on the cake.”
The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, with a 46-run first-innings lead and set to bat again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle 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 Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, winning the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did an amazing job as a collective attack.”
“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a surface offering significant movement. 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 bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, 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 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 put pressure on the opposition and take it back to them.”
Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 the next batter in 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 really well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in obviously a small first innings total.”
Dismissing a Legend
Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of consistent performances against the Australian captain, but he dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him.
“No, he’s obviously an amazing player. I watched him as a kid, and obviously getting him out 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 main goal 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 stumps from an Australian bowler, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the MCG surface.
“We know it can move real fast on day one and day two, then when the wicket compacts and loses moisture it can be good for batting. 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 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”.
