Josh Tongue still marvels at his “crazy summer” last year but the swiftness of his rise and injury setbacks along the way have taught the England fast bowler not to look too far ahead.
Tongue followed up a five-wicket haul on Test debut against Ireland at Lord’s last June by returning to the venue weeks later and snaring David Warner and Steve Smith in both innings in his lone Ashes match.
A couple of separate pectoral issues – unconnected to a shoulder nerve problem that sidelined him between June 2021 and August 2022 – have interrupted his progress, denying him an ODI debut in the Caribbean at the back end of last year and possible involvement in England’s recent Test tour of India.
After going under the knife in December, Tongue is back bowling in practice again ahead of schedule and awaiting the green light to return to competitive action for the first time since last August.
Having switched counties over the winter from Worcestershire to Nottinghamshire, the 26-year-old’s focus is on impressing at Trent Bridge rather than looking ahead to the English Test summer.
“I don’t really look into the future at all,” he told the PA news agency. “Last summer, I didn’t think I would have ever played for England and then all of a sudden, I had the phone call and I was selected.
“It was a crazy summer and it all happened so quickly. It took me a while to let it all sink in. Getting out the world’s top-class batters is an amazing feeling.
“Whatever I do as a bowler is to try and do the best for the team. When I do get back playing, I just want to focus on doing as well as I can for Notts and if England do come knocking then happy days.”
Having handed Tongue a two-year central contract, England are likely to be keeping a close eye on him, with the first Test of the summer not starting until July 10 against the West Indies at Lord’s.
There is at least one seamer vacancy following Stuart Broad’s retirement last year and with Rob Key, England’s director of men’s cricket, suggesting recently they are on the lookout for bowlers who can consistently operate in the mid-to-high 80mph range, Tongue fits the bill.
“There’s loads of fast bowlers in the country so there’s a good group of us now who are going to push for a spot,” Tongue said.
“Every team likes having fast bowlers, they’ve got a point of difference, especially when there’s not much going out there and you need someone that bowls 85-90mph to change the game.”
While Broad has also left a sizeable hole at Nottinghamshire, Tongue rejected out of hand the suggestion he could be the long-term replacement.
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m a different bowler. I go about things differently to what Broady would have done.
“He was an unbelievable bowler and somebody I grew up watching. To share the changing room for England last year was amazing. I haven’t thought about filling his shoes at all, I just want to do the best I can for Notts.”
Tongue was not alone in leaving Worcestershire for Nottinghamshire in the close-season, with Dillon Pennington and Jack Haynes also moving to the east midlands.
“I just want to win games for Notts, that’s why I came here,” Tongue added. “I want to win trophies. It’s every cricketer’s aim.”
Nottinghamshire, who were beaten by Essex in their Vitality County Championship opener, are due to welcome Worcestershire this week although Tongue is unlikely to be available against his former club.
“We have capable replacements”- Powell encourages bowlers to step up and be counted in Alzarri Joseph’s absence for first two England T20Is
West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell called the unavailability of pacer Alzarri Joseph a big loss on the eve of the first of five T20 Internationals against England at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Joseph was suspended by Cricket West Indies for two games after abruptly leaving the field during the series-deciding third ODI between the West Indies and England at the same venue on Wednesday which the hosts won by eight wickets to claim a 2-1 series win.
“It’s a definite loss for us,” Powell said in a pre-match press conference on Friday.
“He’s the spearhead of our attack and one of our more experienced bowlers but, having said that, we have capable replacements. When you look on the bench strength, I think guys that are waiting in the wings are good also. It’s an opportunity for somebody to step up and be counted,” he added.
The West Indian T20 side are coming off a disappointing series loss to Sri Lanka and will be looking to bounce back against opponents they have become very familiar with over the years, especially on their home turf.
“Every time England comes to the Caribbean it’s a big rivalry. England is one of the best teams in the world so it definitely brings out the best in us from a T20 perspective,” Powell said.
“I think we’ve been playing some good T20 cricket so this series provides an opportunity for us to continue to do that,” he added.
Another added thought in the mind of players in the format this time of year is the looming IPL player auction.
With the amount of cricket played throughout the year, however, Powell doesn’t see how anyone’s performance in these five games will determine whether or not they are picked up during the auction on November 24 and 25.
Instead, Powell wants his team to focus on the task at hand.
“A lot of scouting has already been done. I don’t think five games would actually change the decisions of where IPL teams will go. It’s just for us from an individual standpoint to focus on what we can contribute to our team and leave the rest to whatever,” he said.
With the ODI team just winning their series, Powell was asked about whether or not there is pressure for the T20 side to do the same.
“There is always pressure, especially playing at home against such a good opponent,” he said.
“Fortunately for us as a T20 team, we’ve been managing that pressure pretty well, so far,” he added.
The first T20I bowls off tomorrow at 3:00pm JA time/4:00pm ECT.
Hamilton hits 96*; Cornwall, Walsh Jr dominate as Hurricanes go top with 84-run win over Volcanoes
Jahmar Hamilton, Rakheem Cornwall and Hayden Walsh Jr all played starring roles to lead the Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a comprehensive 84-run win over the Winward Islands Volcanoes in their CG United Super50 Cup game at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Friday.
The Hurricanes, after winning the toss and batting first, recovered from being 68-6 after 23 overs to post 180 all out off 48.4 overs, a respectable total in the end.
Hamilton, who came to the crease at 23-2 in the ninth over, carried his bat though the innings on the way to a career-best 96* off 128 balls including just five fours and two sixes.
To put into context how crucial Hamilton’s knock was, Jewel Andrew was the next highest scorer for the Hurricanes with 17.
Kavem Hodge starred with the ball for the Volcanoes with 4-26 from his 10 overs while Darel Cyrus was good in support with 2-33 from his 10 overs.
It was then the turn of the Leewards spin twins to take over proceedings as captain Rakheem Cornwall and Hayden Walsh Jr combined to take all ten wickets as the Windwards were bundled out for 96 in just 21 overs.
Cornwall led the way with 6-26 off nine overs while Walsh Jr took 4-20 off six overs as the Hurricanes moved to 38 points from five matches to sit at the top of the points table, one point ahead of the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and six ahead of the Barbados Pride who were doing battle with the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the time of publishing.
Alick Athanaze was the only Volcanoes batting to pass 30 with his 34.
Full Scores:
Leeward Islands Volcanoes 180 off 48.4 overs (Jahmar Hamilton 96*, Kavem Hodge 4-26, Darel Cyrus 2-33)
Windward Islands Volcanoes 96 off 21 overs (Alick Athanaze 33, Rakheem Cornwall 6-26, Hayden Walsh Jr 4-20).
Samson century sets India on way to comfortable T20I win over South Africa
Sanju Samson's century and a strong bowling display set India on their way to a 61-run victory over South Africa at Kingsmead on Friday.
The teams met for the first time since the T20 World Cup final, with India once again coming out on top to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match T20I series.
Samson started strongly, plundering 107 in a knock which included 10 sixes, and held firm to get his second consecutive T20I century, even as Abhishek Sharma (7) and Suryakumar Yadav (21) were both taken early.
Tilak Yarma added 33, but Gerald Coetzee (3-37) helped to ensure India's momentum faltered, though the tourists still set a tough target, finishing on 202-8.
Any hopes of a quick start for South Africa crumbled though as Aiden Markram (8) fell inside the first over.
Varun Chakaravarthy (3-25) and Ravi Bishnoi (3-28) impressively stopped any rhythm from building, with the latter stopping South Africa's top-scorer Heinrich Klaasen on 25 as the hosts stumbled to all out for 141 in the 18th over.
Data Debrief: No home comforts
South Africa will have been looking to avenge their World Cup final loss, but their struggles on home soil continued in Durban.
They have lost their last five men's T20Is at Kingsmead, including their last four. Meanwhile, India are undefeated in their five matches at Kingsmead (W4 T1).
In fact, South Africa have lost 17 of their last 20 men's T20Is in South Africa, with India responsible for their last two such losses. They had only lost once in nine matches prior to this span (W7 T1).
The damage was done early on by Samson, whose hundred is the fastest by an Indian in T20Is against South Africa.
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