Uncapped sailor Josh Tongue called up the England team for pre-Ashes Test with Ireland at Lord’s amid injury concerns over key bowlers… and he already has Steve Smith’s wicket this season!
Josh Tongue, the unmarked Worcestershire sailor, has been added to England’s test squad for next week’s match against Ireland at Lord’s.
Tongue, who underwent career-saving shoulder surgery before returning to action last summer, was part of the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year.
The 25-year-old’s 11 County Championship wickets this season include Australian star Steve Smith.
“We have been watching Josh for quite some time and he deserves this call-up to the test team. It will be a great experience for him to understand and get used to the environment under Ben (Stokes) and Brendon (McCullum),” said England national selector Luke Wright.
It’s important to have players ready to respond and with a big summer of Test cricket coming up, we need that depth in our squad. We wish Josh and the rest of the squad the best for the first international of the campaign.’
Worcestershire sailor Josh Tongue has been called up to the England squad for the Ireland Test at Lord’s early next month
Tongue, 25, underwent career-saving shoulder surgery before returning to action last year
The decision to expand the team to 16 comes amid injury troubles for Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson, with England unlikely to take any chances ahead of the Ashes which start in just over three weeks.
Tongue has impressed the Pears in recent seasons and was discussed by first-squad selectors only because of a minor side-tension that counted against him.
That’s clear enough now for him to get the call to back up the expected tempo attack from Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts.
With Jofra Archer ruled out for the summer and Olly Stone sidelined again, Tongue’s height propels him into an unexpected battle for the highly anticipated series against Australia.
It will not have escaped England’s attention that Tongue was the man who ended Steve Smith’s first innings on overseas duty with Sussex, winning a marginal lbw call that left Smith shaking his head in resignation.
Speaking after a memorable day when he also sacked India’s Cheteshwar Pujara, Tongue said, “I looked it back. It was one of those – it looked high, but it couldn’t be clipping. There’s no telling if it was hit or missing. I call it a bail trimmer.
“It looks good on the scorecard. He’s a great player to come out of.’
Tongue made his England Lions debut earlier this year on tour in Sri Lanka, taking eight wickets, including a first innings of five for 76 at Galle.
Australian star Steve Smith walks out after Tongue sacked him in Sussex vs Worcestershire County Championship match earlier this month
Tongue has taken 11 County Championship wickets for Worcestershire so far this season
Just over a year ago, his career was jeopardized by a shoulder nerve injury called thoracic outlet syndrome, which sidelined him for 15 months and at one point made him think about early retirement.
Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson said: ‘It fills us with great pleasure to witness Josh’s moment, which is truly well deserved after the enormous amount of effort he has invested in his recovery.
“It is an incredibly proud moment for all of us in Worcestershire to witness the growth of a player who has been part of our talent journey since he was six years old and is now progressing to the highest level of the sport.”
Tongue has 162 first-class wickets in 47 appearances at an average of 26.04, with 11 in four Division Two outings this season.