Josh Tongue, who was chosen over Chris Woakes for England’s first Test of the summer, will make his Test debut against Ireland tomorrow (June 1). Here is everything you need to know about England’s newest fast-bowling acquisition.
After Tongue was added to the team last week, England revealed their starting lineup for the Lord’s Test match yesterday. The 25-year-old, who represents Worcestershire in first-class cricket, has so far this year’s County Championship claimed 11 wickets. As a right-arm fast bowler, he has four games with an average of 41.45 and an economy rate of 4.43 in this season’s County Championship.
https://twitter.com/englandcricket/status/1663619613781901313
Josh Tongue was added to the playing XI replacing Chris Woakes. Mark Wood has returned home to spend time with his family following the birth of his second child, while Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson are managing minor injuries ahead of the Ashes. Woakes has been out for more than a year due to a chronic injury. The 34-year-old has an average of 22.63 average in England Tests.
Amongst Josh Tounge’s wickets this year in County Championship was Australia’s premier batter, Steve Smith’s wicket. It was Smith’s first match in this year’s County Championship. In the same game, he later dismissed India’s number three, Cheteshwar Pujara.
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On May 30, Tongue commented on his selection, saying: “It’s an amazing feeling. [I’m] speechless, really. Even from when I got the first call-up to be in the squad… now being in the actual team, it’s just a dream come true really.”
First Class stats
| Matches | Innings | Balls | Runs | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Average | Economy | Strike-Rate | 5w | 10w |
| 47 | 82 | 7432 | 4220 | 162 | 6/97 | 9/98 | 26.04 | 3.40 | 45.8 | 7 | 0 |
Tongue’s inclusion in the team on Monday was discussed by England’s head coach Brendon McCullum before it was revealed that he would make his debut. McCullum said, “He’s a big strong lad, that’s for sure, he looks like he bowls quite fast and has some real skills. He is obviously a bit of a rough diamond. He’s had some injuries throughout his career and it is nice for a guy like him to be able to have an extended period of time where he has been injury-free this summer to push his case.”
England’s XI vs Ireland:
Ben Stokes (c), Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Matt Potts, Josh Tongue, Jack Leach.
Also Read: The Ashes: Schedule, Venue and other details
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