Tongue joined Headley on the honours board in the cavernous away-team dressing rooms at the MCG on Friday evening, with his figures of 5 for 45 immortalised in gold. It was notable, too, that the name of Jasprit Bumrah featured closely above Tongue’s (in 2018 and 2024) given the trait that the two bowlers share in their action contributes to making them so dangerous.
Both Tongue and Bumrah release the ball from beyond the perpendicular – that is, their arm points towards 10 or 11 on a clock face, rather than the more commonplace 12 or 1. The result is that their natural shape is into the right-hander, tempting batters to play balls they may otherwise have left, and exacerbating the effects of any lateral movement.
Tongue is not in Bumrah’s league when it comes to control – Bumrah concedes fewer than three runs per over across 52 Tests, while Tongue has leaked more than four runs per over in his first eight – but his strike rate is comparable: Bumrah takes a wicket every 42.6 balls, and Tongue has struck every 39.6 balls across a much shorter career.
It was the fifth time out of five that Tongue had dismissed Smith across formats: once in the County Championship three seasons ago, twice in the 2023 Ashes Test at Lord’s, and once in a Hundred game for Manchester Originals.
“He bowled nicely,” Smith said. “He gets above the perpendicular, shapes the ball back into you with that angle, and draws you into playing, I suppose – similar to Scotty Boland in a way. [They have] similar release points and angles they create. He’s a good bowler, bowled really nicely in this game, and he’s done a pretty good job every time he’s had the opportunity to play for England.”
“He’s had his injuries and when you do have injuries, you do tend to lean on the side of caution,” Stokes said, “but I think that Test match did so much good for him knowing that he can bowl long spells and then he can come back and back that up, and he’s reaped the rewards since he’s been given the opportunity out here.
“He’s got those natural attributes – in particular to right-handers – with his release point and how he constantly makes right-handers feel like they need to play the ball. He’s just got that natural wicket-taking ability that is so hard to come by.
“He should be very, very proud of himself the way that he’s operated in this game, bowled some long, big, spells and he’s also backed it up. He’s been phenomenal in the two opportunities that he’s been given so far in this series.”
Tongue’s success begged two obvious questions: should England have picked him earlier in the tour, having left him out for the first two Tests? And could Stokes have used him as an opening bowler rather than Carse, whose success in this series – and in his career to date – has come with an older ball?
They will dwell on both in the coming days, weeks and months as they reflect on this series. But as Tongue sat in a circle of team-mates on the outfield as the light faded at the MCG, he could at least look back at two days which vindicated the hard work that he has had to endure over the past three years.
“I was in a tough situation with my body, potentially retiring,” he said. “I’m glad I put in the hard work to get myself back playing cricket and now playing for England. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
