Josh Tongue to make his England Test debut against Ireland ahead of Chris Woakes

England will hand a Test debut at Lord’s to a bowler who feared his career was over last year.

The severity of the shoulder injury was so serious that Josh Tongue was out for 15 months that the Worcestershire fast bowler considered another job.

But he returned to such a positive effect for the Lions in Sri Lanka last winter and when he became the first man in county cricket to take Steve Smith’s wicket earlier in the season, England came in for a surprise last night.

They announced a team for Thursday’s one-off Test against Ireland with Tongue but excluding Chris Woakes, who had previously spoken enthusiastically about returning to the England Test side for the first time under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Woakes was clearly in for a shock when, as expected, England rested first-choice Ashes bowlers in Jimmy Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood, but gave Tongue a debut in place of the hapless veteran.

For Tongue, it could have been over soon. He saw three specialists before inventing a nerve problem in his shoulder all the way to the bottom, but then became a surprise selection for last winter’s Lions red-ball tour, where he impressed against Sri Lanka.

Now England have decided to look at a bowler who might just provide that x-factor of extra pace, with both Jofra Archer and Olly Stone ruled out and only Mark Wood left standing between options that yield a point of difference.

“When I was going through those hard times, I was tempted to pull the pin, retire and do something else,” Tongue, 25, admitted. ‘I didn’t know if I would be able to play cricket again.

“I was in a dark place for those 15 months, just not knowing what was happening. But I’m so glad I persevered and stayed strong.’

It’s a positive selection by England in line with every move they’ve made under Stokes and McCullum. They know what Woakes can do, while Tongue is a largely unknown quantity and they can spend the next four days seeing if he is ready to be added to the English group of Ashes fast bowlers.

Either they’re more concerned about the petty issues Anderson and Robinson face than they admit and don’t want to risk Woakes, but that seems unlikely. Stuart Broad and Matthew Potts both play, but are joined by a debutant instead of an old hand.

“I’ll definitely pick up the pace,” Tongue added when he was added to England’s 15-man squad for this Ashes starter last week. “Being quite tall I can bring pace and bounce, a little bit of movement and hopefully a few wickets.

“I’ve never played at Lord’s for Worcester before, so it’s the first time I’m here and experiencing the ground. It’s a great feeling and to also do my Test write-off.’

Clearly impressed with Tongue during two days of net training for England at Lord’s, McCullum said: ‘He’s a big, strong lad, that’s for sure. He looks like he bowls pretty fast and has real skills. He’s a bit of a diamond in the rough and has had some problems with injuries, but we think he has something really exciting.”

Ireland, meanwhile, were forced to defend a man who isn’t here in the form of their best player Josh Little, who played in the final of the IPL for Gujarat on Monday, missing this test to prioritize World Cup qualifiers for the Irish. month.

“He is a very valuable asset and making sure we manage him accordingly is very important to us and him,” said Ireland coach Heinrich Malan.

England (against Ireland on Thursday): Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (captain), Bairstow (goalkeeper), Broad, Potts, Tongue, Leach.