‘The Wicket is Offering Plenty’: Tongue Revels in Five-Fer and Defends England Batting Approach.

After collapsing to a total of 110 in Melbourne, another chapter in a difficult tour on this Ashes campaign, but for the young seamer day one of the fourth Test was also a personal milestone.

“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 is incredibly 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, 46 runs ahead on first innings and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that could potentially ease on day two. But this was also Tongue’s day, the star performer 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, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, I thought we did an amazing job as a bowling unit.”

“Credit to them, they bowled well too. It’s a surface offering significant movement. But we’ve got to just regroup tomorrow and repeat the performance.”

“I feel like if you put the ball in the right 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 angle.”

Defending the Approach

There may be something jarring for English fans in hearing Tongue repeated the playbook chapter headings 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 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 force the issue and seize the initiative.”

Tongue said there was no specific plan on how England would bat on this surface, arguably unwisely given they were dismissed inside 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 appropriate moment to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot.

“I think, identifying scoring areas 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 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 dismissed suggestions he might “have the wood” over him.

“No, he’s clearly a world-class batter. I’ve grown up watching him, 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 main goal 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 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 have the preconceptions tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different proposition second innings.”

Australia will begin 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 concise answer. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.