Wild Josh Tongue sends down one of England's strangest spells of the series

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3 days ago

It was, by any measure, a horror start for Josh Tongue.
In prime bowling conditions with India already one down, he banged in a filthy half-tracker that sailed down the legside, perfectly bisecting the wicketkeeper and leg slip, both of whom dived in slapstick fashion. The ultimate loosener had brought five wides.
The ignominy did not end there, as his opening over lasted nine painful balls. There was another wide, which almost missed the cut strip on left-handed Sai Sudharsan's offside, then another that howled down the legside for five more wides. After three legal deliveries, Tongue had conceded 12 runs. It was an ugly start, bringing to mind Steve Harmison in Brisbane in 2006. Some even wondered if Tongue was experiencing an episode of the 'yips', as the Leicestershire bowler Scott Boswell infamously did in the C&G Trophy final at Lord's in 2001.
Fortunately, he was not, but rhythm eluded Tongue throughout his opening spell, as he struggled to get purchase in the footholds at the Vauxhall End on a damp morning. He was not alone in that. There were plenty more loose balls, but they were not as costly. He looked very dangerous when he did get it right, such as when he knocked Sudharsan off his feet with an inswinging yorker, which cannoned into his pads off the inside edge.
He was able to tidy up his figures, but it was a curious, curate's egg of a spell, arguably England's strangest of the series. It contributed to a poor morning session for the hosts, with India making it to a slightly early lunch on 72 for two, a solid return having been invited to bat in such helpful conditions. It was the best toss of the five England have won this series, and with the exception of Gus Atkinson, England's patched-together attack failed to make it count. Jamie Overton was every bit as wild as Tongue, and they do not look quite right in the same attack.
This was Tongue's first appearance since the second Test at Edgbaston, England's only loss of the series. When Jofra Archer returned, he was the obvious man to drop out of the side, but had 11 wickets at 33 in two matches, making him England's leading wicket-taker. He was helped by cleaning up the tail in dramatic fashion at Headingley. A key aspect of England's win, it burnished his reputation as 'the mop', a nickname given to him at Nottinghamshire. Ben Stokes joked that he was gobbling up 'rabbit pie'.
England are extremely excited about Tongue. They waited patiently while he missed all of 2024 with injury, a year in which they blooded a new, post-James Anderson attack. They like his awkward angle of attack, with a delayed arm, which comes from beyond the perpendicular. Such awkwardness is in vogue.
Tongue's performance in the morning session meant he was ignored by stand-in captain Ollie Pope in a short session between showers, and he came back for a second spell only when Atkinson had completed his third. In the evening session, however, Tongue showed why England are enthusiastic about his potential.
He switched to the Pavilion End and started horribly once more, with Jamie Smith doing well to save four byes from a wild ball down the legside. But four balls later, Tongue had picked up Sudharsan with an unplayable delivery from round the wicket. It was full, honing in on the stumps, but swung away late, taking the edge through to slip. Sudharsan's 108-ball vigil had finally ended.
In his next over, Tongue was driven through cover and tucked off the hips by Karun Nair, both for four. In the one after, there were four byes flying beyond Smith's reach, then Ravindra Jadeja upper-cut a four from another wild ball. But next ball, he found another jaffa – from nowhere. This was similar to the ball to Sudharsan, but perhaps a little shorter, and took the edge off Jadeja, immovable at Lord's and Old Trafford.
Tongue had shown how dangerous he could be, especially to left handers, and had done it in the phase – the old ball – that has so troubled England in this series. He did it when he had no rhythm at all, making this an undeniably bizarre performance; would those beauties have had the same impact had Tongue bowled better overall? Or did a shock factor contribute to the Indian pair's demise?
Tongue's final ball of the day was a wide full toss, eased through the offside by Nair for four more. That left him with figures that suggested a solid, if slightly expensive, day at the office: 13-3-47-2. A tale of trash and treasure, it had been anything but.
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