Josh Tongue questioned if early retirement was calling following a uncommon shoulder harm that left him unable to really feel his complete proper arm. However now the Worcestershire seamer has been handed his first call-up by England for the one-off Take a look at in opposition to Eire subsequent week.
Tongue, 25, has already been within the headlines this summer season, turning into the primary bowler to dismiss Steve Smith in the course of the Australian’s pre-Ashes warm-up stint at Sussex. Although a borderline lbw choice, the spell nonetheless underlined the right-armer’s promise.
With Jimmy Anderson (groin pressure) and Ollie Robinson (ankle soreness) unlikely to be risked within the four-day Take a look at in opposition to Eire that begins at Lord’s on 1 June, Tongue has now been added to the set-up and can compete with Chris Woakes, Matthew Potts and Stuart Broad for a spot within the ultimate XI.
A product of the pathway at New Street, having began out with Worcestershire’s Underneath-10s when he was simply six years previous, Tongue bowls at a clumsy tempo and boasts 162 wickets at a median of 26 from his 47 first-class matches to this point.
The newcomer is at present on the comeback path from a side-strain however, amid an harm disaster that has seen Jofra Archer, Olly Stone, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse all dominated out, and with Mark Wooden probably on paternity go away, he ought to be handed match within the coming days.
That niggle pales into insignificance in comparison with the challenges Tongue has overcome in his nascent profession, having missed 15 months of first-team cricket for Worcestershire between 2021 and 2022 attributable to a nerve downside in his proper shoulder. It required two operations which, regardless of recommendations the harm could also be career-ending, finally labored.
Talking after the match in opposition to Sussex at New Street earlier this month, and nonetheless buzzing from his removing of Smith for 30, Tongue defined: “It was referred to as thoracic outlet syndrome.
“Mainly, I simply couldn’t really feel my complete proper arm, I couldn’t really feel the ball in my hand, my complete arm would go useless, my arms would go chilly.
“It’s a really uncommon harm to have as a cricketer. It was a nasty time however I’m feeling good now and I’m simply glad to be again on the park and having fun with my cricket.”
Enjoying the final three County Championship matches of the 2022 season noticed Tongue referred to as up for the Lions’ winter programme. And in February, confronted with the unfamiliar circumstances of Galle, he claimed eight wickets in opposition to Sri Lanka A and gave the selectors a heavy nudge.
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Luke Wright, England men’s national selector, said: “We have been monitoring Josh for quite some time and he deserves this call-up. It will be a great experience for him to understand and get used to the environment under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.”
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England Test squad
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Ben Stokes (Durham) Capt; James Anderson (Lancashire); Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire); Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire); Harry Brook (Yorkshire); Zak Crawley (Kent); Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire); Dan Lawrence (Essex); Jack Leach (Somerset); Ollie Pope (Surrey); Matthew Potts (Durham); Ollie Robinson (Sussex); Joe Root (Yorkshire); Josh Tongue (Worcestershire); Chris Woakes (Warwickshire); Mark Wood (Durham)
Tongue will link up with the England squad this weekend, with the four-day Test against Ireland serving as their final preparations for the Ashes series that gets under way at Edgbaston on 16 June.
Meanwhile, Ireland have called up the uncapped seamer Matthew Foster for the Lord’s Test following Conor Olphert’s injury setback. Olphert was progressing well in his recovery from a knee injury but the problem has resurfaced in recent weeks, meaning the 27-year-old will not be fit for the four-day Test.
