A last minute change has been made into England’s Squad for the one-off Test against Ireland starting on Thursday (June 1) as England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has called up Josh Tongue, a seamer from Worcestershire.
Josh has been on England’s radar since his breakthrough season with Worcestershire as a 19-year-old in 2017. His 47 wickets in the County Championship season earned him a first England Lions call-up before a foot injury, and stress fracture on his back disrupted Josh’s progress.
After coming back from injury , the right-armer has left a significant impact on everyone this county season with his lethal bowling. He has taken 11 wickets in four games, including the prized scalp of Australia’s Steve Smith in Worcestershire fixture against Sussex.
Luke Wright, England Men’s National Selector, said: “We have been monitoring Josh Tongue for quite some time, and he deserves this call-up to the Test squad. It will be a great experience for him to understand and get used to the environment under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. It is important to have players ready to respond and with a big summer of Test cricket coming up, we will need that depth to our squad. We wish Josh and the rest of the squad well for the first international of the campaign.”
Josh comes in as cover for James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, who are unlikely to be risked with respective groin and ankle niggles. Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are the other seamers in the squad. Josh will join up the rest of the squad this weekend.
England’s 16-member Test Squad against Ireland: Ben Stokes(c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
The Ireland Test is followed by the Ashes, with the first of five Tests starting on Friday (June 16).
