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

England may have been bowled out for 110 in Melbourne, another chapter in a difficult tour on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the fourth Test was also a career high.

“It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said at the end of a action-packed day where 20 wickets fell. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, if it’s home or away, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG 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 set to bat again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the standout bowler with a career best five for 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, securing the toss and putting the Aussies in to bat, I thought we did an amazing 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 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 group, 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 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 a rate of 3.7 per 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 bowled out in less than 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 obviously shift a gear or put them into pressure.

“I think, knowing where you’re scoring options are is vitally important on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Harry Brook batted really well. The runs that he got were absolutely vital in obviously a small first innings total.”

Dismissing a Legend

Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, 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 batter that I want to try and get out. It doesn’t really matter who he is. My main goal 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 cautious assessment at stumps from an Australian bowler, 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 compacts and loses moisture 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 10 wickets in hand and Travis Head at the crease, alongside surely one of the best-supported nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “I’m a bowler, so no”.