Josh Tongue aims to keep up record against Steve Smith in final test

England star Josh Tongue will aim to continue his purple patch against ‘bunny’ Steve Smith as new bowling discovery gears up for final Ashes Test

• Josh Tongue named in England’s unchanged 14-man squad for final Ashes test 
• He has 100% record in bowling out Australia’s top batsman Steve Smith 
• Tongue has been one of the bowling discoveries of the summer for England

Not many bowlers can claim Steve Smith as his ‘bunny’ but Josh Tongue can point to his record against Australia’s premier batsman as compelling evidence for his Oval inclusion.

Tongue was yesterday named in England’s unchanged 14-man squad for Thursday’s final Test and, with question marks over the form and fitness of Jimmy Anderson and Chris Woakes, has a strong chance of making his third Test appearance, all of them coming in London.

He has been considered Mark Wood’s deputy so far in this Ashes by England because of his extra pace but has made a good enough impression in his Tests against Ireland and Australia at Lord’s to be a viable candidate for any seam bowling vacancy.

Not least his proud boast of dismissing Smith in every innings he has bowled at him so far, from the former Australia captain’s first appearance for Sussex at Worcester earlier this summer to twice on Tongue’s Ashes debut in the second Test.

‘I did see this little picture of Steve Smith in the corner and me and then a rabbit on my head or something like that,’ smiled Tongue. ‘I have seen some funny stuff on Twitter.

Josh Tongue was yesterday named in England’s 14-man squad for Thursday’s final Test

Tongue has been one of the bowling discoveries of the summer for England during The Ashes

Tongue has had Steve Smith’s number in The Ashes having bowled him out every time 

‘I did a bit of analyst work against him before that game at Worcester and just tried to mix up the angles. He does draw you in and goes across his stumps and I tried not to play to his strengths.

‘When you try to bowl straight he’ll clip you through the legside so I feel like bowling that fourth or fifth stump line and just trying to bore him and force him to do something wrong is the best way to go. That happened in the first innings at Lord’s and then in the second he was bumped out. It’s just so good to bowl against him really.’

Tongue, 25, has been one of the bowling discoveries of the summer for England and proved both his ability and temperament at the highest level firstly with a five-wicket haul against Ireland but more particularly with his success against Australia’s big guns.

Not only did he dismiss Smith twice at Lord’s but he did the same to David Warner and also bowled Usman Khawaja with pace approaching 90 miles per hour and the ability to mix things up and provide that all important x-factor.

‘I didn’t think I’d play at Lord’s and that first day, coming through the Long Room, hearing the National Anthem, I thought ‘wow, I’m actually playing in the Ashes’,’ said Tongue,’ speaking at a media appearance organised by LV = Insurance at Stockport Georgians Cricket Club.

‘My first over went for a few runs and I thought ‘I’ve got to kick into gear here’ and getting Khawaja helped calm down my nerves. Getting Warner and Smith out as well was such a nice feeling.’

The surprise, at least to those who had not seen too much of Tongue at Worcester, was that he was consistently able to get close to the 90 miles per hour mark and proved able to provide that extra pace in the absence of Wood, Jofra Archer and Olly Stone.

‘I always thought I was quick enough for international cricket,’ said Tongue, who will leave New Road for Nottinghamshire next season.

The Nottingham-bound star will hope to repeat his impressive performances in the final test 

England and Josh Tongue will look draw level with Australia in the final Ashes test this week

‘Obviously going from county to international cricket there’s a lot more pressure and the adrenalin will be kicking in and the intensity and stuff.

‘I was trying not to look at the speeds on the scoreboard at Lord’s too much but you naturally look sometimes and it was great to get up to that sort of speed.

‘I just try to get as many wickets as I can if that’s bowling at 83, 84 or 88 and 89 mph but hitting 90 is a nice feeling because growing up you want to bowl as fast as you can.’

Now the big question is whether he will play at the Oval with England desperate to win to at least level the Ashes even if they cannot regain the urn.

‘I’ve only played there once and it was very flat!’ added Tongue. ‘But I’d love to play this week. ‘Whatever happens it’s been an amazing time for me.

‘I was out so long with my shoulder injury, having two operations and not knowing what I was going to be doing and maybe retiring.

‘Then getting that call-up to the Ireland Test, words can’t really describe how I felt. Now being in the Ashes squad it just feels so surreal. It’s crazy but I’m loving being involved.’

Josh Tongue was speaking on behalf of LV=Insurance, title sponsors of this year’s Ashes series.

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