‘The Pitch is Doing Quite a Bit’: Tongue Celebrates Five-Fer and Defends England Batting Approach.

Despite being dismissed for a modest 110 in the MCG, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on the current Ashes tour, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.

“It’s a dream come true,” Tongue said 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 makes it even better.”

The state of the game is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings 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 dismissed Australia for 152.

“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Obviously coming to the ground here this morning, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did an amazing job as a collective attack.”

“Credit to them, they bowled well too. 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 was certainly beneficial, it helped me, definitely, 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 applying scoreboard pressure, playing an attractive brand 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 seize the initiative.”

Tongue said there was no real direction on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely given they were dismissed inside 30 overs. “We didn’t have an extensive discussion. I feel like we want to immediately put the bowlers under pressure, so the next batter in thinks it’s the appropriate moment 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 exceptionally well. The runs that he got were obviously crucial in a low first-innings score.”

Claiming a Prized Scalp

Tongue’s spell also contained the most recent instance in a run of cross-format success against the Australian captain, 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 batsman 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 obviously a nice feeling.”

A View from the Other End

There was a more cautious assessment at stumps from Michael Neser, a key wicket taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the MCG surface.

“We know it can deteriorate quickly on day one and day two, then when the wicket hardens up and dries out it can be good for batting. 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 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 green-tinged wicket did too much on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.