🔗 Share this article ‘The Surface is Providing Assistance’: Tongue Revels in Five-Fer and Justifies England Aggressive Mindset. After collapsing to a total of 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 personal milestone. “Dreams come true,” he stated 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. Being here at the MCG 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 batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch 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 rolled Australia out for 152. “It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, 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 bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.” Justifying the Strategy There may be something jarring 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 a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of 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 real direction on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot. “I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important 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.” Dismissing a Legend Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of consistent performances against Steve Smith, but he laughed off suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him. “No, he’s obviously an amazing player. 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. 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.” The Bowler’s Perspective There was a more cautious assessment at close of play from an Australian bowler, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the Melbourne pitch. “We know it can deteriorate quickly 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 assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different proposition 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 most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.
After collapsing to a total of 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 personal milestone. “Dreams come true,” he stated 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. Being here at the MCG 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 batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch 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 rolled Australia out for 152. “It was a fantastic day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. Arriving at the venue this morning, winning the toss and electing to bowl first, 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 bowling unit, you’re going to get your rewards. It feels like that fuller line definitely helped, it helped me, for sure, with my angle.” Justifying the Strategy There may be something jarring 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 a rate of 3.7 per over. “That’s our brand of 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 real direction on how England would bat on this surface, perhaps inadvisably 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 whoever walks out thinks it’s the right time to obviously shift a gear or put them on the back foot. “I think, identifying scoring areas is vitally important 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.” Dismissing a Legend Tongue’s spell also contained the latest stage in a run of consistent performances against Steve Smith, but he laughed off suggestions he might “hold an advantage” over him. “No, he’s obviously an amazing player. 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. 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.” The Bowler’s Perspective There was a more cautious assessment at close of play from an Australian bowler, a leading wicket-taker in England’s reply and a long-time observer of the Melbourne pitch. “We know it can deteriorate quickly 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 assume tomorrow that the pitch is going to do a lot. It could be a different proposition 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 most popular nightwatchmen in Test history, the homegrown talent Scott Boland. Asked if he felt the grassy pitch did excessive amounts on day one of a Test, Neser had a brief reply. “As a bowler, I'd say no”.