‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates 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 Boxing Day Test was also a personal milestone.

“Dreams come true,” he stated at the end of a hectic 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 state of the game is already leaning towards Australia, 46 runs ahead on first innings and set to bat again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that could potentially ease on day two. But this was undeniably Tongue’s moment, the star performer with a career best five for 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, winning 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 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 bowling unit, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, definitely, with my angle.”

Defending the Approach

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 positive style of cricket and so on, something England did here by scraping past 100 runs at 3.7 runs an 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 seize the initiative.”

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 whoever walks out 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 obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is moving around. But yeah, I thought Brookie 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 consistent performances against the Australian captain, but he dismissed suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him.

“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I watched him as a kid, and dismissing him is a huge thrill. 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 cautious assessment at close of play from Michael Neser, 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 have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to offer as much. It could be a different story in the second innings.”

Australia will begin 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 local boy 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”.