Who is England's uncapped fast bowler Josh Tongue?
Uncapped fast bowler Josh Tongue has been added to England's squad for the one-off Test versus Ireland, starting at Lord's on June 1. The youngster, who represents Worcestershire in domestic cricket, has been impressive lately and the same earned him a maiden England call-up. Notably, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson's injuries propelled Tongue's inclusion into the team. Here we look at his stats.
Who is Josh Tongue?
Born on November 15, 1997, Tongue can produce sharp pace and bounce through a high and easy action. He burst onto the scenes with a spectacular five-wicket haul on his County Championship debut against Glamorgan in 2016. He enjoyed a dream 2017 season as Worcestershire were promoted to Division 1 from Division 2. The right-arm pacer has also represented England U-19 and England Lions.
A look at his numbers
In 47 First-Class appearances so far, Tongue has returned with 162 wickets at an average of 26.04. The tally includes seven four-wicket hauls and as many fifers with his best figures reading 6/97. Meanwhile, Tongue has not played a lot of white-ball cricket. While he owns 16 wickets in 15 List-A matches, the pacer has claimed four wickets in seven T20 appearances.
How he has fared this year?
Tongue impressed one and all during England Lions's tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. The young speedster bowled with hostility as his figures in four innings read 5/76, 3/77, 3/22, and 1/46. He has blown hot and cold in the ongoing County Championship Division 2, scalping 11 wickets across six innings at 41.45. The tally includes three three-wicket hauls.
Tongue determined to shine in England colors
Having done well in domestic cricket, Tongue is raring to shine at the highest level. "The invaluable experience I gained during the winter as part of the Lions team has given me the hunger to represent my country in more international cricket matches and obviously the next step is Test cricket," he told Worcestershire CCC's website after getting the call-up.
What did the selector say?
"We have been monitoring Josh for quite some time and he deserves this call-up," England men's national selector Luke Wright said." It will be a great experience for him to understand and get used to the environment under Ben [Stokes] and Brendon [McCullum]."
Did you know?
It has been a dream turnaround for Tongue, who was considering retirement from professional cricket last year after missing 15 months of action due to a shoulder injury. However, he has put up some remarkable performances after returning to the 22 yards.
England squad for Ireland Test
England squad for Ireland Test: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue.
