Josh Tongue picked up his second five-wicket haul in the 2025 County Championship, building his case further for an England recall.
The 27-year-old quick has turned out in two Tests so far, picking up 10 wickets at an average of 25.70. He made his debut against Ireland at Lord’s in 2023, also playing the Ashes Test at the venue that year, but has not been selected since.
In the 2023/24 season, he picked up 26 wickets in seven games, but did not play a first-class match for nearly 18 months due to a string of injuries. Tongue, who had been sidelined for nearly 15 months ahead of the 2023 summer, had contemplated retirement at the age of 25 after suffering from a thoracic outlet syndrome - a condition where the nerves, or blood vessels, between the neck and the shoulder get compressed. He returned after Botox injections alleviated the pain.
However, he ruptured his right pectoral muscle during the Hundred in August 2023, which saw him out of action for a considerable period. Just ahead of the T20 Blast that year, he tore his hamstring, which ruled him out of England’s tour to the Caribbean. He finally made his comeback during England Lions series against Australia in January this year, going wicketless in the 13 overs that he bowled.
How has Josh Tongue fared so far?
He returned to play for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship, ending with a seven-wicket match haul, including figures of 5-66 in the second innings against Durham. He went wicketless in the first innings against Warwickshire and got 2-49 in the next innings, before picking up another five-for against Sussex. Playing at home, Tongue’s 5-44 helped bowl out the opposition for 169 as Nottinghamshire look forward to a healthy first-innings lead.
Overall, he has played 54 first-class games, picking up 191 wickets at an average of 25.38.
The start to the season has also strengthened Tongue’s hopes of a Test recall, with England already looking for injury replacements for Mark Wood and Olly Stone. The duo have been ruled out for the start of the international season, which will begin with a five-match Test series against India.
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