- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,565
Josh Tongue was parachuted into the England team for the first Test of the summer against Ireland.
England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, described Tongue as “a big strong lad” who “bowls quite fast and has some real skills” after watching him in action during the team’s first training session of the summer on Monday. After their second, McCullum broke the news to Tongue that he would play against Ireland.
“I bowled at some of the lads on Monday,” Tongue said. “I felt like I bowled nicely and obviously I was going in with no expectations to be playing at all, and just bowling at high-class players in the nets was good for me. I must have bowled fairly well to get selected.
“Baz came up to me just before training finished [on Tuesday] and gave me the good news. It’s an amazing feeling, a dream come true really.”
Tongue has his own experience with serious injury having spent 15 months with thoracic outlet syndrome, the compression of nerves in the shoulder, during which he considered retiring from the game altogether. “I’m just proud of myself and how I held in there,” he said.
“I was very close to retiring – I’d had two operations, seen a lot of specialists and I was in a really dark place. I don’t think there’s that many bowlers who have been in the same situation as me. Obviously nearly retiring, then getting called up to the Lions in Sri Lanka in the winter and now the Test squad, I’m just proud of myself. Knowing I stuck in there, and it’s come good.”
Tongue, who has been associated with Worcestershire since he was six years old – he becomes the county’s first England debutant since Moeen Ali in 2014 – insisted he was not yet allowing himself to dream of being involved in the Ashes. “I’m the sort of person to stay in the present,” he said. “I try not to think too much ahead of myself, and whatever game I play in I just try and do as much as I can for the team to win a game of cricket. Those things will come, hopefully.”
==
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With his mum, dad, partner and son all watching on...<br><br>Jimmy Anderson presents Josh Tongue with his very first England cap
<br><br>A special moment for the whole family 
*
*
<br><br>Congratulations, Josh 
<a href="https://t.co/FTew4m8y1o">pic.twitter.com/FTew4m8y1o</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1664206537475104774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">a MASSIVE moment for Josh Tongue on debut!
<br><br>His first Test wicket for England 
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EnglandCricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EnglandCricket</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvIRE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvIRE</a> <a href="https://t.co/QPEIVxp4MN">pic.twitter.com/QPEIVxp4MN</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1664662218854768641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, described Tongue as “a big strong lad” who “bowls quite fast and has some real skills” after watching him in action during the team’s first training session of the summer on Monday. After their second, McCullum broke the news to Tongue that he would play against Ireland.
“I bowled at some of the lads on Monday,” Tongue said. “I felt like I bowled nicely and obviously I was going in with no expectations to be playing at all, and just bowling at high-class players in the nets was good for me. I must have bowled fairly well to get selected.
“Baz came up to me just before training finished [on Tuesday] and gave me the good news. It’s an amazing feeling, a dream come true really.”
Tongue has his own experience with serious injury having spent 15 months with thoracic outlet syndrome, the compression of nerves in the shoulder, during which he considered retiring from the game altogether. “I’m just proud of myself and how I held in there,” he said.
“I was very close to retiring – I’d had two operations, seen a lot of specialists and I was in a really dark place. I don’t think there’s that many bowlers who have been in the same situation as me. Obviously nearly retiring, then getting called up to the Lions in Sri Lanka in the winter and now the Test squad, I’m just proud of myself. Knowing I stuck in there, and it’s come good.”
Tongue, who has been associated with Worcestershire since he was six years old – he becomes the county’s first England debutant since Moeen Ali in 2014 – insisted he was not yet allowing himself to dream of being involved in the Ashes. “I’m the sort of person to stay in the present,” he said. “I try not to think too much ahead of myself, and whatever game I play in I just try and do as much as I can for the team to win a game of cricket. Those things will come, hopefully.”
==
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With his mum, dad, partner and son all watching on...<br><br>Jimmy Anderson presents Josh Tongue with his very first England cap
<br><br>A special moment for the whole family **<br><br>Congratulations, Josh <a href="https://t.co/FTew4m8y1o">pic.twitter.com/FTew4m8y1o</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1664206537475104774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">a MASSIVE moment for Josh Tongue on debut!
<br><br>His first Test wicket for England <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EnglandCricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EnglandCricket</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvIRE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvIRE</a> <a href="https://t.co/QPEIVxp4MN">pic.twitter.com/QPEIVxp4MN</a></p>— England Cricket (@englandcricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1664662218854768641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<br><br>Pat Cummins reacts to Josh Tongue's inclusion for the second Ashes Test ⬇<a href="https://t.co/8rJ836KZnZ">pic.twitter.com/8rJ836KZnZ</a></p>— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/1673668974444257280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
