David Warner and Usman Khawaja castled by Josh Tongue in the 2023 Ashes Test at Lord’s – Two deliveries that would echo in the minds of the fast bowler even after he retires from the game and sits on a rocking chair to reminisce old memories. Those two peaches also tell something about Tongue’s immense potential.
While reading through the above-mentioned paragraph, a question might arise in your mind – If Tongue has so much promise, then why has he played a mere two Tests in an 8-year first-class career? The simple reason for that is a spate of injuries.
Sometimes, it becomes difficult to even keep track of all the injuries that Tongue has suffered over a period of time. Tongue has had a couple of failed shoulder surgeries, alongside a foot injury. Eventually, it was David Murray, the surgeon, who suggested a botox-related treatment, which helped him convalesce from his shoulder injury. In fact, there was a time when Tongue even thought of retiring from the game.
Just when his career was about to blossom, he sustained a pectoral muscle rupture in August 2023. Only this year, Tongue returned to full fitness and impressed the English selectors in the county circuit, resulting in his inclusion for the forthcoming Zimbabwe Test.
We still have to delve deeper into the second part of the question – What makes a fully fit Tongue a potent force? The tall pace bowler can extract bounce and nip at a good pace. His 11 ‘o’ clock release point is also such that the right-hand batter would be mainly looking for nip-backers. However, he has the ability to get it to straighten off the seam from slightly wider of the crease. He can also shift to a round-the-wicket angle and nip it considerably back off the deck. The wickets of Khawaja and Warner at Lord’s give more credence to that hypothesis.
So it is fair to say that Tongue can be an X-factor bowler in the upcoming India-England Test series. Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are the two batters who might have to closely examine Tongue’s methods. In a nutshell, Gill has an issue against the nip-backers. Meanwhile, Rahul has a tendency to lose his wicket versus pacers who go wide of the crease and then get it to straighten. The left-handers have to also keep an eye on Tongue’s traits to bowl from round the wicket and extract appreciable movement.
Despite Tongue being a potential threat to the Indian batters in the forthcoming Test rubber, there is always a caveat to add – Injury concerns.
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