‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Tongue Revels in Five-Wicket Haul and Justifies England Batting Approach.

England may have been bowled out for 110 in the MCG, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain on this Ashes campaign, but for the young seamer day one of the Boxing Day Test was also a career high.

“Dreams come true,” he stated 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 is incredibly 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 leaning towards Australia, 46 runs ahead on first innings and set to bat again on an notoriously lively surface that may now settle on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer with a career best five for 45 as England dismissed Australia for 152.

“It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on this historic day. Arriving at the venue this morning, securing the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did a superb job as a bowling unit.”

“And obviously they’ve bowled well as well. It’s a surface offering significant movement. 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 group, you’re going to reap the benefits. It feels like that fuller length 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 applying scoreboard pressure, 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 very positive brand 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 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 right time to accelerate or put them on the back foot.

“I think, identifying scoring areas 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 absolutely vital in a low first-innings score.”

Claiming a Prized Scalp

Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage 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 obviously getting him out is a very special feeling. 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 ominous take at close of play from Michael Neser, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a career-long student of the Melbourne pitch.

“We know it can move real fast 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 assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different story 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 homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the green-tinged wicket did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a concise answer. “I’m a bowler, so no”.