Josh Tongue is a rising English fast-bowler who is the newest addition to join Three Lions squad, find out more about his brief bio, age, height, family and father name
The Worcestershire-based bowler is all set to make his England debut in Thursday’s one-off Test against Ireland at the Lords.
Cricketer Josh Tongue biography, age, family, wife, father name, bowling speed, career stats
England have opted to bowl first in the four-day Test against Ireland.
☘️ Fionn Hand and 🏴 Josh Tongue make their Test debuts.#ENGvIRE | 📝: https://t.co/fgcTHCZb8A pic.twitter.com/41CQrzB7EP
— ICC (@ICC) June 1, 2023
BREAKING: Worcestershire seamer Josh Tongue will make his England debut in this week's one-off Test against Ireland at Lord's after being preferred to Chris Woakes. 🏏 pic.twitter.com/YiP3SRnqJU
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 30, 2023
Josh Tongue's England Test debut will win a family friend £50,000 to a 14-year-old bet.
Congratulations to both Tim and Josh Tongue on a special day.#CricTracker #JoshTongue #ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/ZNmvhKjkmA
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) June 1, 2023
Interestingly, Joshua was at one time almost forced into retirement following a severe shoulder injury.
Josh Tongue brief bio
Josh Charles Tongue is an English professional cricketer who was born on 15 November 1997, in Redditch, United Kingdom. Tongue plays for Worcestershire County Cricket Club at the domestic level. Tongue got his education form King’s Worcester before becoming a professional.
Josh primarily plays as a right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, and also bats right-handed occasionally. England head coach Brendon McCullum has described the young talent as a ‘big strong lad’ and ‘a rough diamond’.
Josh Tongue’s father Phil was a coach and played at Redditch Cricket Club. Josh is single and unmarried.
Age and height
Josh Tongue is currently 25 years old and stands at a height of 6ft 4 inch.
Josh Tongue rise in career and battle with injury
Josh Tongue plays county cricket at the domestic level for Worcestershire. The young fast-bowler has so far played for 47 first-class games, picking up 162 wickets prior to his England debut. Josh is known to be a fast and aggressive bowler.
The 25-year-old has had a remarkable rise in his career despite facing what seemed to be a career-ending injury in the past. Joshua faced a severe shoulder injury, which kept him out of action for around 15 months. The injury was so severe that he even considered giving up on his cricketing career.
He underwent two major surgeries on his shoulder problem, which failed, with another consultant David Murray even suggesting to try out Botox injections. At that time, Josh had not played a first-class match in over 12 months. Thankfully, the cosmetic treatment worked out in relieving the pressure in the joint. He eventually returned back on the Worcestershire team, playing three Division Two fixtures around the end of the 2022 season.
He has since improved and done so well and even became the first man in county cricket to take the wicket of Steve Smith earlier this season. Following his positive performances, the England national cricket squad gave him a call-up to join.
Tongue will line-up alongside other attacking bowlers like Stuart Broad, Matt Potts, and Jack Leach. England captain Ben Stokes is unlikely to bowl during the game due to his long-standing knee problem.
Josh Tongue key highlights
Although Josh went wicketless in his last outing against Glamorgan, he has 11 wickets, which include Australian star Steve Smith. Back in January this year, he joined the three Lions in their tour of Sri Lanka and played rather impressively. During that tour, he bagged a match return of eight for 153 despite playing on a flat pitch in Galle.
Josh Tongue skills and attributes
The 25-year-old bowler has the rare ability to produce high arm action deliveries due to his tall height and high angle of release. This also means that the ball often follows the batsman. Interestingly, during his race to 50 first-class wickets, several first-class umpires compared Tongue to a young Stuart Broad.
Josh Tongue bowling speed
Tongue has quite the skills when it comes to his bowling speed. In fact, the young bowler regularly touches the 90-mile-per-hour barrier rather than just bursting through. However, what makes his deliveries more dangerous is the combination of that speed with his aggression and height.
Since Tongue stands at around 6ft 4ins, he possesses a towering release point. This was also one of the factors, which led Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to believe that Tongue can offer that spark to the English team in the absence of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and Olly Stone.
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