Josh Tongue Credits England’s ‘Brave’ Tactics For Pakistan’s Batting Collapse

Josh Tongue Reveals England’s Key Bowling Tactic Behind Pakistan’s 171 All-Out

Josh Tongue said England’s decision to attack Pakistan with “brave” bowling lengths played a major role in their dominant performance on the opening day of the Headingley Test. Tongue claimed 5/53 as Pakistan were dismissed for 171. England then reached 112/2 by stumps, leaving them only 59 runs behind and firmly in control of the match.

Tongue On England’s Bowling Plan

England chose to bowl after winning the toss, with cloudy conditions providing plenty of movement for the seamers. Ollie Robinson made an immediate impact by taking a wicket with the first ball and then removing Shan Masood to leave Pakistan 14/2.

Tongue said the amount of movement made it important for England’s bowlers to maintain an attacking length rather than simply focus on containing the batters.

“Obviously it was nipping quite a bit this morning. Even with some of the balls they played and missed, it was going quite a lot,” Tongue told broadcasters. “So I think it was just being brave with your length. I think that was quite crucial on this wicket, and trying to keep the stumps in his play as much. I think the balls and LBW is going to be quite crucial towards the back end of this game.”

Pakistan Briefly Recover

After the early setbacks, Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq put together a 91-run stand for the third wicket. The partnership helped Pakistan recover before England struck again. Tongue dismissed Imam for 48, while Robinson soon removed Shafique for 47 to expose Pakistan’s lower order.

Pakistan then lost their last eight wickets for just 74 runs.

Robinson And Tongue Dominate

Robinson marked his return to Test cricket with an impressive 5/42, claiming his fifth five-wicket haul. His first-ball dismissal of Azan Awais immediately put Pakistan under pressure, while his removal of Masood compounded their early problems.

Tongue grew more consistent as the innings progressed and produced one of the deliveries of the day, sharply bringing the ball back into the batter at around 91mph to hit the stumps. Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 171, their lowest first-innings total in a Test in a decade. England finished with two five-wicket hauls in the innings, with Tongue taking his fourth in Tests.

Tongue Happy With Preparation

Despite moving into Test cricket after a short turnaround from The Hundred, Tongue said his body had coped well. “Yeah, body’s all good. It’s obviously a very quick turnaround. But it’s been quite nice to have Gus in the same dressing room as me,” he said. He added that the England camp had worked on keeping bowling workloads high enough before the Test and had completed additional preparation.

England Take Control

England lost Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay during their reply, but Joe Root and Jordan Cox steadied the innings. The hosts ended the day at 112/2 and will resume with a strong opportunity to build a substantial first-innings lead. With the pitch still expected to offer movement, England will hope their disciplined approach with the ball can now translate into a decisive advantage with the bat.