‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Tongue Revels in Five-Fer and Defends England Aggressive Mindset.
England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, yet another challenging episode on this Ashes campaign, 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 a remarkable 20 wickets tumbled. “Playing in the Ashes has always been the goal, 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 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 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 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 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.”
Justifying the Strategy
There may be a sense of dissonance 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 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. “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 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 doing a bit more. But yeah, I thought Brookie batted exceptionally well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in obviously a small first innings total.”
Claiming a Prized Scalp
Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of consistent performances against Steve Smith, but he laughed off 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 primary objective 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 Michael Neser, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a career-long student of the MCG surface.
“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 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 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. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
