Fast bowler impressed in maiden Tests in 2023 but has barely bowled a ball since
Vithushan Ehantharajah25-Mar-2025The 2025 season will be Josh Tongue’s second as a Nottinghamshire player. It speaks to the way things have gone for the fast bowler that he is excited to finally make his debut for the club.Tongue is no stranger to long periods on the sidelines. A previous 15-month stint prior to the 2023 summer led him to contemplate retirement and a move into coaching at the age of 25. He was suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome – a condition where nerves or blood vessel between the neck and shoulder are compressed – but Botox injections to alleviate the pressure (and pain) saved Tongue’s career.This time around, a rupture of his right pectoral muscle during the Hundred in August 2023 was followed by an aggravation at the start of last season. Having dealt with that issue, he was on the cusp of returning to action in Notts Outlaws’ T20 Blast campaign, but then he tore his hamstring. It was only at the start of 2025, on England Lions’ tour of Australia, that he made his competitive comeback.Indeed, 2024 was a bitter blow for Tongue given the strides he had made in between the two lay-offs. Having impressed on a Lions tour to Sri Lanka at the start of 2023, Tongue was thrust onto the international stage that summer, playing both Lord’s Test matches, against Ireland and Australia. He took five wickets on debut against the former, before pocketing Steve Smith twice on his Ashes bow, having already dismissed him earlier in the season for Worcestershire while Smith was playing for Sussex. He was also part of England’s limited-overs plans.Josh Tongue claimed a five-for on Test debut against Ireland•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesThat window netted Tongue the security of a two-year central contract with the ECB, who were enamoured by his high pace and impressive movement off the pitch and through the air. And the experience, along with the 10 wickets at 25.70, gave the 27-year-old something to hold onto during the toughest moments.”It was just like the end of the world,” Tongue said. “It was like, ‘How’s that happened? Really?’ Going through all my pec stuff, and then all of a sudden, I do one sprint session at Loughborough, and you just feel your hammy.”It’s just so cruel. But what I’ve been through in the past, I think that’s helped me mentally. Getting the right support around that has definitely helped me to where I am now.”I was out first with my thoracic outlet for 16 to 17 months, and then within the five, six months after that, I was playing for England. It just happened so quickly. So it’s just making sure, mentally, I’m in a good place, getting the right support. And even at Notts, Chris Marshall, our psychologist, helped me a lot during last summer. That just gives me the drive and the dedication to play for England again.”The winter has been very encouraging. Tongue attended a Lions bowling camp in South Africa last November, which led into the tour of Australia at the start of this year. His appearance against a CA XI on January 22 was his first since turning out for Manchester Originals against Southern Brave on August 23, 2023.Though Tongue went wicketless in that match, and the one-off unofficial Test match against Australia A, progress has been steady. His speeds over the off-season were consistently around the 90mph mark, and he is noticeably broader in the shoulders and chest than he was two years ago. His progress may have been stunted, but his development has not. Naturally, the ECB will carefully tailor his start to the season. It is unlikely he will play back-to-back rounds in the County Championship.”It was amazing to be back out on the field,” Tongue said. “Being out for that long, definitely, I wasn’t where I wanted to be in terms of how I was bowling. But for being out for 18 months, I knew that was going to happen. There were still snippets of my spells where I thought I was sort of back to where I was in ’23. But as the winter’s gone on, I feel like I’m getting better and better.”Related
Josh Tongue, Sam Cook dig in to salvage draw for England Lions
Essex embark on new reality in English cricket
Rory Burns reaps the benefit as Surrey set sights on four in a row
Hollioake channels Hollywood as he comes out swinging with Kent
Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson ready to have it all – again
As expected from someone who does not want to take fitness for granted, he stopped short of admitting he had his sights set on a return to Test cricket this summer and the Ashes further along.Even the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at the end of May was waved away as something to aim for, despite the neatness of it taking place at Trent Bridge. Tongue’s focus right now is making sure he puts in performances at his home ground for his club before wondering what lies on the horizon for his country.”It’s everyone’s dream to play in an Ashes series away, and it’s natural to think like that – but I’m the sort of bloke who is focusing in the present. I don’t want to think too far in the future, because anything could happen in six, seven months.”There’s been a few people speaking about it [playing in the Zimbabwe Test]. But I want to get through that first block of Champos and make sure I’m bowling well. That’s the main thing, and my body’s holding up as well.”It is very weird,” he said of having not yet played for Nottinghamshire. “Signing, how many months ago during that Ashes (2023), but I haven’t played one game here. I’ve played here for Worcestershire and in the Hundred, but I haven’t played one game for Notts yet. But I’m looking forward to it.”
