England surprise with seamer Tongue to replace Ali for second Ashes Test

Bengaluru — England have named seamer Josh Tongue as a surprise pick in their team for the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s that starts on Wednesday, replacing injured spinner Moeen Ali, the country’s cricket board (ECB) said on Tuesday.

Off-spinner Ali was nursing a finger injury in the first match at Edgbaston that Australia won by two wickets and managed to bowl just 14 overs in the second innings.

The 25-year-old Tongue, who took 5/66 in the second innings of his Test debut against Ireland at Lord’s earlier in June, is the only change to the side that lost the first Ashes Test, with England captain Ben Stokes opting for an all-seam attack.

Stokes told reporters the decision to name four pace bowlers was dictated by the condition of the pitch at Lord’s.

“We needed to get to Lord’s first and see what conditions we were faced with,” Stokes said. “We have seen there is quite a lot of grass on the wicket, which is a bit green. Traditionally, Lord’s has offered more for the seamers.”

Tongue was picked ahead of Mark Wood, who was widely tipped for selection for the second Test, with Joe Root expected to continue to play the role of auxiliary spinner.

“We wanted to play Mark Wood,” Stokes added. “We felt that he could definitely start the game but with conversations we felt the extra week … would give him a better chance to play a full part from [the third Test at] Leeds onward.

“We brought Tonguey into the team as a like-for-like … so I am looking forward to seeing him continue on the great start he had against Ireland here. Being able to use him in the fourth seamer role is something that I am looking forward to.”

More pace

Australia’s left-arm quick Mitchell Starc could be in contention to return to the bowling attack for the Test at Lord’s but captain Pat Cummins said he may delay a decision on the final line-up closer to Wednesday’s toss.

The Lord’s pitch appeared reasonably green two days before the Test and, should it remain that way, is expected to provide more pace and bounce than the flat track for the opener at Birmingham.

Cummins said the weather may also come into play, with heavy clouds forecast for Wednesday potentially altering the surface, as he faces a selection headache with Starc, Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood vying for two slots in the pace attack.

“It is a factor, we will see,” Cummins said on Tuesday. “We will work it out tomorrow, give the wicket another day, see what they do with it, see what the weather’s like.

“I thought everyone who played last week did a great job. We have got Starcy there who didn’t play last week who comes into the conversation as well.”

Cummins shared a match-winning 55-run stand with Nathan Lyon in the first Test as Australia’s gritty and often cautious performance trumped England’s audacious “Bazball” flamboyance.

The skipper said Australia will stick to their approach and aim to wear out England before the third Test at Headingley, only four days after the scheduled end of the second.

“Our number one goal when we go out there is to score runs and if it takes longer, it doesn’t matter to us,” Cummins said, adding that he is not overly concerned about bowlers’ economy rates as long as they are claiming wickets.

Reuters