Josh Tongue scripted history by becoming the first England bowler this century to claim a five-wicket haul in a men’s Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Tongue picked up figures of 5/45 during Australia’s first innings of 152 all out. Reeling 3-0 in the series, Tongue’s efforts helped England bowl out Australia cheaply in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test.
It was the first time an England bowler had claimed a five-wicket haul in a Test at the MCG since Darren Gough and Dean Headley achieved the feat in 1998, with Tongue ending a 27-year drought as the tourists breathed life into an Ashes series already retained by Australia.
The spell was also Tongue’s most productive in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best of 5/66 against Ireland at Lord’s in 2023. Tongue will be on a hat-trick in Australia’s second innings after dismissing Scott Boland (0) and Michael Neser (35) with the final two balls of the hosts’ first innings.
Australia struggled from the outset against a disciplined bowling performance from the visitors after opting to field. Tongue removed three of the top four Australian batters as the hosts lost four wickets in the morning
Usman Khawaja then perished in the fourth over after lunch following a successful review. Alex Carey could not bail his side out this time, falling to a leg-slip trap. Just when batting appeared to ease, Cameron Green was run out. Neser scored a valuable 35, including seven fours, but Tongue returned to wrap up the innings and claim the third five-for of his Test career.
Notably, a massive crowd has been confirmed at the MCG, with 93,442 spectators in attendance already—a figure that could rise further.
–IANS
